Silk and Twisted
by moor
Summary: A series of oneshots, shorts, and drabbles, all relating in one way or another to sex. Various pairings. Rated M, for obvious reasons. ABANDONED.
1. Chapter 1

**Series Title: Silk and Twisted**

**Story Title: A Night of Sleep**

**Author: Moor**

**Rating: M**

**Disclaimer: I make no claim to "Avatar".**

A series of drabbles, one-shots, and other shorts all relating to sex, in one way or another. Characters are all bumped up to at least the age of consent in wherever you live, to cover my ass. (Or, if it helps, imagine Zuko's around 27, and adjust everyone else's ages from there, unless I mention something different specifically somewhere else. I'm pretty sure if he's 27, everyone else is legal by then…)

AN: I was tempted to make this Zuko/Katara, but it just came out feeling more like a Sokka/Suki moment. Apologies for any OOC.

* * *

It had been a very long day, with too much arguing in the new development in her village, political intrigue tinting the plans for the next celebration, and her friends ignoring her for who knew what. Suki groaned with exhaustion. Sleeping in her bed was going to feel _so good_ after so much stress. She didn't want anything else, just sleep. Tomorrow was another day, and was bound to pile more on her plate, but that was at least a night away. And she planned to sleep as furiously as possible.

She pulled the covers up and slid into bed, her eyes already closed before her head hit the pillow. With a happy sound, she rolled onto her side and smiled at the warmth coming off her husband's nearby frame. It was definitely nice to have a bed-warmer.

Sokka chuckled, but it was muffled a bit by their blankets. He shifted and wiggled closer, draping an arm around her middle and massaging her stomach, along her side, down her leg…

A bit irritated, Suki shifted away from him. "Not tonight, Sokka. Sleep. Too tired," she mumbled, turning so her back faced him.

Not one to be discouraged, Sokka's hands roved over her, seeking out her more responsive sighs. "Come on, I missed you tonight! And at lunch. And first thing this morning…" he kissed her up and down her neck, nibbling the sensitive spot that he knew she enjoyed.

Without meaning to, she laughed when he got to _justthatspot_ and his hair fell around her ears, tickling her like a feather. He grinned and kept at it, teasing her a bit more and reaching further...

"Didn't I do you this morning?" she complained, trying to distract him. She was yawning and trying to focus on the nothingness to relax. _Sleep, blessed sleep, come quickly, please! I only have a few short hours left!_ she prayed fervently. _Grant me my one request!_

"NO!" he retorted quickly, angry that she could have forgotten. "I need groping!" he complained childishly. He took one of her hands and brought it closer to him. "See! I'm desperate here! Do your duty—the sooner I'm done, the faster you're asleep!"

As much as she wanted to throttle him, she started laughing. "Sokka…"

Perking up at her good humour, he switched back to suave mode and lowered his voice seductively. "Do I make you wet, baby?"

"Do the tears of laughter falling down my cheeks, count?" she asked him as she laughed harder, wiping the dampness from her face.

Sokka nodded, smiling. "I love our foreplay," he said happily and cuddled up closer to her.

Giving in a bit, she wiggled into him and pulled his arms around her comfortably. "Me, too. But no more tonight. Tomorrow maybe. I really am tired, ok? And if you annoy me one more time, you'll learn the Kiyoshi meaning of pain. There's a reason women are in charge around here, you know," she teased him as she drifted off, but meant every word.

"Ok," he sighed, ever the martyr. "But tomorrow I get extra love," he demanded in a sulky voice.

"Mm-hmm," she mumbled, already out for the night.

* * *

/end of this one.

AN: Way off base? As I stated above, I know Katara and Zuko are usually portrayed quite passionately, but when this scene came to mind, the silliness just came across as more of a Sokka and Suki moment. Thoughts?

AN: 'Silk and Twisted' is the title of this series of shorts. It is meant to be a parody of 'Sick and Twisted'. 'Silk and Twisted' came to me after I misread something written on the back of a truck cabin on my commute home from work tonight. Odd where inspiration decides to strike, sometimes…


	2. Chapter 2 : The clown

**Series Title: Silk and Twisted  
****Story Title: The clown  
****Author: Moor  
****Rating: M  
****Disclaimer: I make no claim to "Avatar".**

A series of drabbles, one-shots, and other shorts all relating to sex, in one way or another. This round: Iroh and Jun!

* * *

Iroh leaned over Jun's shoulder as she counted her day's earnings, and rubbed her shoulders. 

She tilted her head a bit to the side, permitting him to nuzzle her cheek, and he leaned in closer, rubbing his hands down her sides.

"Still have a headache?" he asked, concerned she'd been staying up so late recently. She just wouldn't relax and go to sleep. _They had so little time together, and still, she…_ He sighed, but kept positive, listening as she spoke. He treasured her words. Her, actually.

"Yes, but hopefully it'll pass soon. The week's almost over, and the next job's lined up."

"You should come to bed soon, then," he said softly, kissing her neck and hair.

She continued counting her money. "When I'm done. I'm not tired enough, yet."

She was exhausted, and he knew it. She was avoiding him, or at least sleep, for another reason. "Oh? Afraid the clowns will get you?" he teased, remembering how she'd kept her distance from the jesters and costumed entertainers during one of their rare public outings together.

"No, I'm sure the clowns will _grope_ me, though," she said derisively, one eyebrow arched as his hands reached her breasts.

"By 'clowns', you mean me, don't you?" he asked her innocently, feigning hurt.

She chuckled. "Wise old Dragon, aren't you?" she said dryly. "I'll be there soon. Go warm things up for me," she suggested, setting her shoulders back as he massaged them deeply. She was enjoying the feeling of his warming hands.

"Darling, I _am_ a firebender..."

She smiled at him as he passed her a cup of brandy that had materialized out of nowhere, and been warmed in his hands. _Damn, he was quick when he wanted to be_, she mused. "Yes, I know…" She took a final look at her piles of silver and gold, and turned to her lover. Her worries could take a hike for the night, she decided—she had far better company standing in front of her. "And you're right, I should get to bed." She swallowed some of the liquid in her glass. "Not tea?"

Iroh smiled. _Bed, not sleep, she'd said_. He loved this woman. "I don't think we'll need anything to help keep us up."

Her eyebrow arched again, but this time in amusement and anticipation, and a smile graced her lips. "No, you're probably right. Better get to it so you can start 'owing me one', old man."

She took the hand he offered, and walked with him to their sleeping room in the small inn suite.

/end of this one.

* * *

/AN: By request. Hope it met expectations! 


	3. Chapter 3 : Open

**Series Title: Silk and Twisted  
Story Title: Open  
Author: Moor  
Rating: M  
Disclaimer: I make no claim to "Avatar".**

A series of drabbles, one-shots, and other shorts all relating to sex, in one way or another. This round: Toph & Aang, by special request.

* * *

Finally, they'd talked. 

_(But just prior to that…)_

_She'd gone to bed two hours early, just to get away from him. He was being stubborn and infuriating and she wanted nothing better than to eject him from her life. She was utterly fed up and unsatisfied with everything and anything that had to do with the (formerly) most important person in her heart. And though she couldn't figure out how, she knew her heartbreak was her own fault, too. She didn't know what else to do anymore. She couldn't believe she'd wasted so much of her time, so many of her emotions on him, trying to do what was right, trusting him, and now realizing she barely knew the man she'd fallen in love with. She was angry with him, but furious at herself. How had she been so stupid?!_

_She felt like screaming, but was too frustrated to even do that. She lay down on their futon, staring unseeing at the ceiling, trying to calm her rushing heartbeat, her ragged breath. She felt tense, and forced herself to open her fisted palms. Letting the silence of the darkened room envelop her, she took a few deep breaths and closed her eyes. She knew she wouldn't sleep for a while, but hopefully she'd not have to face Aang again and end up riled back up. She'd just fake sleep if he came to bed. She hoped he'd stay away forever._

_Letting out a huff, she tried to block out the vibrations she sensed, even through the futon's cushion. _

_But Aang had always been brave, and that courage was something she'd admired in him, long ago. So, after some time had passed, he'd decided to crawl into bed, sitting beside her, but not touching her… and he looked at her. She didn't have to see him to feel his eyes on her. He kept watch over her for a bit before finally starting to talk about his day, his week, all the way back to the beginning of the month, just telling her everything he'd been going through, thinking, feeling, having to manage because of his responsibilities; opening the door to invite her in to see his side of their life together. _

It was like a damn burst between them, one beam cracking at a time as the pressure built up and eventually blew the blockage apart. In spite of her best attempts to ignore Aang and feign sleep, Toph found herself looking over at him, too; and openly listened. Soon she nodded at him, acknowledging his words, his concerns, his worries. After an hour or so, she started reluctantly talking about her own doubts, and was surprised at how quickly she was able to relax around him again, relieved just to have his presence there beside her, attending to her, truly listening to her for once instead of cracking jokes and immaturely distracting her from her troubles.

Talking uninterrupted, sharing so openly, bordered on a tangible sensation to and between them; and they were hesitant to actually break, by any kind of physical touch, the re-discovered cord that connected their hearts. It took time—hours--but they parlayed, bit by bit: sitting together; shifting closer; leaning forward; and… embracing. With timid hands they caressed arms, hair, faces, lips. Near dawn, overcome with physical and emotional exhaustion, they collapsed in unison under the light blanket, his arms encircling her waist, peaceful together for the first time in ages.

Aang leaned across Toph, running his hands over her side reverently. He'd missed having her so close, both physically and emotionally. He'd almost lost her—he prayed he'd never make the same mistakes again.

Toph stirred slightly in her sleep, noticing the altered rhythm of his heartbeat. When she mumbling-ly asked him what he was doing, he softly replied it was "all part of the intercourse between lovers". She corrected him sleepily, "you mean the _discourse_ between lovers."

The faint light of the approaching sunrise reflected mischievously in his dark eyes, and he shifted smoothly to straddle her, deliberately making his intention obvious to her as he leaned close and put his cheek to hers and murmured, "No, I think I had it right the first time," in a low voice.

She smiled at him, and slowly wrapped her hands around the back of his head and shoulders, languidly pulling him down to her. "I'm willing to be wrong on occasion," she admitted.

* * *

AN: Crap, I wrote something serious. Did I embarrass myself with this? (Honesty, please….)  
AN: Not sure how I feel with this one… I tried to make it in-character, but I'm still learning.  
AN: I've just noticed, I keep giving the girls/women in my stories 'bad days', and having the guys come save them. I should switch things up next time! 


	4. Chapter 4 : Special Occasions

**Series Title: Silk and Twisted  
Story Title: Special Occasions  
Author: Moor  
Rating: M  
Disclaimer: I make no claim to "Avatar".**

A series of drabbles, one-shots, and other shorts all relating to sex, in one way or another. This round: Jetara… and a little something more.

* * *

Seeing Jet swing into their room, Katara quickly stuffed the small book under her pillow and tried to look nonchalant.

"_Finally_," she teased him as he swaggered in. He smirked back at her with a promising look.

Pulling herself up into a more comfortable sitting position, she returned the look as he stripped to his underclothes and joined her under their blankets, reaching out swiftly to mold her warmth against him. Nuzzling her hair and neck, he pulled her down and accidentally knocked her pillow away to the floor, tipping over books and other effects that had been piled precariously on the nightstand to her left. Katara enjoyed the embrace, but winced at the noise.

"Argh, sorry," he mumbled, glancing up from one of his favourite spots. He sighed and pushed himself onto his elbows to look over his mess and decide whether to tidy it up now or delay until morning.

Katara, on the other hand, had sworn curtly under her breath and practically leapt to the floor to hustle all the books out of sight, a small blush staining her cheeks.

Jet noticed the colouring, even in their darkened room. _Oh, so what're you hiding this time? _he wondered, amused and curious at her reaction. "Need help down there?" he asked lazily, leaning over the side of the bed.

"No! No, fine thanks. Don't worry," she said hurriedly. She rushed to collect the books, scrolls, and assorted knick-knacks that were scattered across the floor.

Even more intrigued, he hid a smile and hopped quietly down beside her. "Oh, I insist."

Whirling to face him, Katara clumsily hid the books behind her back. She hadn't even touched any of the knick-knacks. She'd given away her priorities already.

"Jet! Really, you don't have-" a book dropped behind her and he grabbed it before she could stop him "--to…" _Oh no…_ she thought, embarrassment and anxiety coursing through her.

Smirking, he lifted the book and peered at the title through the darkness. Fidgeting with desperation, Katara dropped another book and scurried to grab it, causing more to fall. Kneeling beside her after lighting a lamp, Jet's eyebrows rose appreciatively to his hairline as he read the titles.

Aloud.

_Ecstatically_.

"_The Big O_!" He burst out, enjoying her discomfort.

Katara hunched down and covered her face with her hands.

"_She Comes First_!" He bellowed next.

She groaned in mortification.

"_How to Give Him/Her Ultimate Pleasure_… Volumes one through twelve," an eyebrow rose at that. "My, my, my, Katara, such an encompassing visual-aid guide, too! "

"ARGH! Enough, already!" she snarled in frustration. "Now the surprise is ruined," muttered Katara darkly as she saw Jet reach out and flip through the pages, a deeply-thoughtful expression on his face. She sighed and leaned back on her hands, pulling the last book out from under her fallen pillow. _Oh, this one!_ she realized, and tucked it away quickly, hoping Jet wouldn't see the last book and figure out the last part of the surprise.

Jet caught her movement from the corner of his eye, though. "What's that one?" he asked her curiously. _Surely there couldn't be anything more… 'exciting' than **these**? _He paused a second, to re-evaluate._ Oh Sweet Spirits, maybe there WAS!_

Suddenly, the elusive book took on the highly-sought-after quality of the holy grail.

Katara inched away and stood, brushing herself off. "Nothing. Time for bed, come on!" she called evasively, offering him her hands to hoist him to his feet.

He reached for her instead. "No, really, what was that one, Katara? Tell me."

She tried to twist away, a nervous smile playing at her lips. "Nothing, really..." She faked a yawn. "Wow, I'm so tired—care to join me?" she nearly pleaded with him, tilting her head to the bed in the hopes of 'distracting' him until he lost interest.

Letting his shoulders sag after a moment, he sighed mightily and said, "_Fine_," holding her arm and following her under the covers. He patiently waited while she arranged her pillow, leaned down beside him, tilted her chin up to kiss him –

--before he grabbed her around the waist, flipped her over to his other side, and grabbed the book from its hiding place in the pillow case.

"No!" yelled Katara, grasping wildly at the covers and scrambling to climb back over him to protect her last ace. Jet laughed at her and triumphantly brandished the small, colourful paperback. "Come on! Jet!"

"A-ha!" he teased, holding it out of her reach like a taunting bully. "The jig's up, Katara. I see now that you've been reading—" he squinted to read the title—

"—_The Straight Girl's Guide to Sex with Other (Naughty if you can!) Girls_?!" he screeched incredulously, eyes popping out of their sockets and flitting between her and the shocking guide. "Katara, you—I mean, are you—?" he faltered.

Red as a beet, Katara finally snatched the book back from her infuriating lover, tight-lipped, and turned away from him.

"It was supposed to be a surprise," she grumbled, hurt.

_Uh, YEAH. Affirmative on **that** one!_ sarcastically declared his shell-shocked brain, (with utmost confidence, of course, to destroy any vestige of ego he may have harboured).

"Katara," he whispered, voice nearly trembling, "what does this—I mean, are you—I—what about me? _US_?" he stuttered. He wondered if his heart was breaking. _Was he losing her?_

"It was supposed to be for your birthday," she explained coldly. "A surprise."

Jet kept looking at her, still confused beyond all understanding. She sensed this and went on, turning to him and keeping her eyes lowered to their blankets.

"…Since it was going to be a special occasion, your _twenty-first birthday_, I thought… I'd invite a friend," she concluded with just enough ambiguity in her tone to impress upon him the meaning behind her words. She was mildly embarrassed and irritated her big plan had been uncovered by her own clumsiness.

Jet sat looking at her a moment, silent.

Katara lifted her eyes to meet his, and took a breath.

She blinked.

He stared.

She blinked again, awaiting any reaction from him.

...And suddenly the biggest grin ever seen cracked his jaw as he leapt across the bed and tackled Katara in a fierce hug.

"You're the BEST woman a guy could ever ask for, Katara!" he whooped and claimed her mouth in an excited, passionate kiss.

Grinning back at him, she looked almost smug. "So you approve?"

"_Approve?_" he crowed, his voice nearly cracking with intensity, "Spirits, break out books again so we can start planning our moves! We need to limber up!"

Her head fell back as she laughed at his boyish enthusiasm. Snuggling up close to Jet, Katara obliged and shared the pages of illustrated positions she'd already bookmarked…

* * *

AN: Since I was asked for a Jetara. Happy Valentines' Day! 


	5. Chapter 5 : Treetop

**Series Title: Silk and Twisted  
Story Title: Treetop  
Author: Moor  
Rating: M  
Disclaimer: I make no claim to "Avatar".**

A series of drabbles, one-shots, and other shorts all relating to sex, in one way or another. This round: Longerbee, by request.

* * *

The tree they rested in moved gently back and forth, almost to a lullaby's rhythm. 

He'd already removed her headband. She'd already lightened him of his wide-brimmed hat and quiver.

_The wind had been wild that day, whipping their hair in their faces, slamming them into the trees when they'd rappelled down on the vines, and emptying their elevated supply-huts of all their provisions. Longshot and Smellerbee had been chasing after loose lines and lashing down rogue weapons since the windstorm had commenced, hours before._

He'd removed her armour. She'd shed him of his wrist bindings.

_The trees had shaken and swayed all day, bent so far down they were sure the branches would snap from the stress, and rebounded, nearly sending their comrades flying off into the treetops around them._

_Are you sure you want to?_ he asked her with his usual silent gaze. There was a different light in his eyes that night, though…

"Now more than ever," she'd replied in her raspy voice, a shy smile and faint blush settling across her face.

_Finally, hours later, the creaking branches and groaning boughs calmed nearly to a hush, the gusts died down to a breeze, and the stars shone down through the canopy overhead._

But their tree kept swaying gently back and forth, and their muffled sounds carried softly on the breeze…

* * *

/end of this one. 

AN: Sorry this one's a bit general – I admit I'm not too familiar with this pairing. I did my best, though! (This was written after a request for some Longerbee. Longerbee fans, how'd I do?) As always, I've aged the chars up to whatever your 'age of majority/consent' may be in your locale... Covering my behind... (Whistles nonchalantly and walks away.)


	6. Chapter 6 : Madame Bovary

**Series Title: Silk and Twisted  
Story Title: Madame Bovary  
Author: Moor  
Rating: M  
Disclaimer: I make no claim to "Avatar".**

A series of drabbles, one-shots, and other shorts all relating to sex, in one way or another. This round: Zutara.

* * *

_The plays are definitely getting longer, despite the ordinance_, the Fire Lord groused internally, relieved to finally leave the theatre and return to his inn for the night. _And do they have to introduce me every time I attend? _He was tempted to go incognito the next time he took in some 'relaxing entertainment' for the night. _Stupid decorum…_ The respect and devotion were fine, but the constant hanging-on by the staff got infuriating.

A giggle sounded from nearby, sharply interrupting his complaints and freezing the blood in his heart.

Zuko craned his neck slightly at the sound of a familiar laugh amidst the cattle-like crowds of exiting show-goers. He scanned the herd of faces for any sign of… He shook his head to clear any misleading thoughts. _The stress is definitely getting to me if I'm having audible hallucinations of…_

But then he heard it again. _No, it couldn't be…_

Down the street, a dozen yards beyond him, he saw her leaving from another doorway of the Earth Kingdom theatre he'd himself just departed. _What's she doing here? And how did I not know?_

Pushing back a bit of loose hair, Katara affixed the rogue locks with a jeweled pin while her companion – _fiancé_, Zuko reminded himself absently as he felt his long stride drift to a stop on the stone road, transfixed at the sight of her – casually settled her long, fur-trimmed coat comfortably around her shoulders. She smiled up at the dignified and relaxed dark-skinned man at her side as he softly made a comment in her ear. Her face blossomed with laughter, momentarily withholding the captivating lure of her eyes from him as she wiped away tears of mirth.

The eyes had already caught him once before.

"Lady Katara, is that you?" Zuko heard his own companion – _wife_, he corrected himself haltingly after a moment—call out, curiously. He'd forgotten she was there. _Wake up, Zuko_, he warned himself. _This is no time to reminisce_. The lovely noblewoman was already moving towards the Water Tribe ambassador, pulling her husband along behind her through the throngs of parting spectators. "Oh, it is! This is fantastic; we haven't seen you in years and it's high-time we catch up! Oh, I've missed you – how could you stay away so long?" lamented the warm woman to her old friend.

Katara turned, still smiling at the welcoming voice that had called to her, before she paused, stunned, before them.

_Zuk—! **Your Highness, Fire Lord Zuko**_, she reminded herself immediately, clamping down on any betrayal of emotion that threatened. _Don't you dare forget the honorifics, Katara_, she growled mentally at her psyche. "My Lady! Yes," the Water Tribe woman quickly recovered, looking over them both before heartily greeting them in return. "It's been far too long! How are you?" The elegant women eagerly embraced each other sincerely as their heads rested on each other's shoulders. The Fire Lady smiled into Katara's hair and nodded behind her to her friend's fiancé; Katara and Zuko spared a glare at each other before subsequently avoiding the other's eyes, as if they could somehow transmit a devastating plague if their gazes met too long. Well, perhaps not a _plague_, but a fiery international incident wasn't entirely out of the question... Quick re-introductions were politely exchanged as the parties moved together down the thoroughfare, ambling and eyeing the nearby eateries.

"Oh, you know how it is – treaties, negotiations, trade, civil unrest-- the usual!" joked the Fire Lady with a bored tone as she comfortably linked her arm through her husband's. Her eyebrows were raised in mischief however, and Katara recognized the humor in the other woman's expression. They'd known each other since just before Katara had become an ambassador for the Southern Water Tribe. The stately woman had been a good choice for Fire Lady. Everyone had said so.

_Almost everyone, anyway_, a part of Katara's mind piped up in mock-enthusiasm. _You were just **thrilled** to wake up on Zuko's shoulder that morning, bare-ass naked on the silk sheets, to an advisor barking at you both to get ready since the wedding would be delayed if the Fire Lord didn't put some Agni-damned pants on soon and fly down that aisle! (-- to his 'real' betrothed_, added a cruel corner of her mind.) She could still remember the incident—like a curse bestowed upon them by the previous Fire Lord, sent from beyond the grave:

"_You're engaged?! And you didn't tell me!" __she'd screamed in fury, her hands clenched around Zuko's neck as she straddled him. She was choking him without remorse while the guards desperately tried to wrap her in the sheets and carry her off—to the wedding, to the kitchens, to the dungeons, he didn't care, but he did need to haul ass to avoid a politically detrimental __public embarrassment. And he'd kind of grown fond of his pulse, too._

"_I didn't know! I've been trying to sort it out__, and—aggggggghckkkkkkkk!" he swatted at her, trying not to hurt her, but praying she'd spontaneously fall on her head and please allow him to get a breath of explanation in. The guards redoubled their efforts, calling in reinforcements. Katara froze them to the floor and hissed at them—and, as devoted as the guards were to their Lord, they preferred to die fighting men, not…prey to a master waterbender, scorned and full of more Hellfire than even Agni could deliver. They unconsciously covered their privates lest she freeze those to the floor, too._

"_How could you not—oh, you don't mean…" her face had then gone ashen as her eyebrows had lifted. Zuko was pointing across the room._

_They glared at the small family portrait the Fire Lord kept on a dresser on the other side of his chambers._

"_**AGNI DAMN YOU, OZAI!" **_

Snapping back to the present, Katara couldn't help her eyes following the union of royal couple's arms. "Were you at the show, too?" continued the pleasant Fire Nation woman, looking over at the Water Tribe gentleman and missing Katara's glance. "I can't believe we didn't see you in there! We would have called you up to our box to join us, had we known!"

Despite his best efforts to not react to the inadvertent _Bad Idea_ his charming wife had proposed, the Fire Lord's nose flared.

_No, because that would have been…_ Zuko stared ahead, appearing to ignore the conversation. _That would have been too close for comfort on any level_.

_At least in public_, smirked a taunting voice in his head. _You didn't even **need** a straight level when you were together before_. _Remember that time when you and she—_

_Stop it_. He glared down the road over the heads of most of the other pedestrians they passed. Some of the passerby sensed his barely-leashed state and gave the intimate group a wide berth. Space is good for a pissy Fire Lord.

He knew. He knew that if they'd seen the Water Tribe couple, he would not have paid a moment's attention to the show on the stage. He would not have heard a bar of music or noticed an inch of elaborate costuming. He knew. And had the other couple sat with the Fire Nation royals, would he have been able to breath? To think?

_Not now_, he cautioned himself again as his nerves frayed a fraction further. _Stop thinking right now. You have a **wife** beside you_, he mentally harangued himself before quickly amending it to, _your **own** wife! Argh! Spirits be damned, help! Uncle Iroh, where are you when I need you – isn't this your field of expertise?!_

He swallowed lightly, to moisten his parched throat. The auditorium had been too hot, obviously. It was good they were outside now, getting more air. His thoughts skipped along, unbidden and unrelenting, however. _What would have…? _Could he do it? Force himself to not remember everything that had been, to push aside their past – pasts he doubted his wife or her fiancé were even aware of?

_Oh sweet mother of_ – his heart skipped. _I really, really pray they weren't aware of …_ he mentally grimaced, realizing how astronomically the odds were stacked against him and his desire for them to not know or suspect at least _something_—even if every servant who'd ever happened upon them had been amply rewarded for their silence. _Hells Bells, I remember a time it had seemed like they sought us out in order make a bit of extra pocket money! Opportunistic little peons, taking advantage of our intimacy…_

The private memories flooded his mind. _Conversations. Finding common ground. Campfires. Igniting passions and words. Fights. Reconciliations. More fights. Further reconciliations. Still fights—but better ones. Foreplay. Reconciliations. Robes in the way. Desperation. Hiding from the others. Exchange. Shared anticipation. Fear. Courage. Climbing higher. Exhilaration. A final cry!-- and then… _

_Release._

He saw his breath hissing steam before him in the brisk night air and realized his pulse was racing. _Stop it now_, he ordered himself yet again, snapping harshly back to reality.

He unconsciously patted his wife's arm to warm her in the chilly fog—and was surprised to find it already at a fine temperature. He blinked in confusion before remembering his wife was a firebender, just like him. _Not… _

He refused to look at her.

"We had our own box, actually," replied the unassuming Water Tribesman who softly kneaded Katara's hand within his own.

He looked down at her, fondly. She almost-glared back at him in thanks, warring with her pride and furious at herself for blushing at such a casual touch. _It wasn't like it was—_

_Don't allow it in, Katara_, she reprimanded herself firmly, refusing to pursue the furtive thought. She clenched her hands into fists—and inadvertently squeezed her fiancé's hand. She didn't notice him smile down warmly at her as he continued talking.

"It was quite private, so it wouldn't have been obvious we were there. I'm quite honored to be in such good company, though – would you care to join us for a drink?" the handsome man inquired of the royals as they paused in front of a café-gallery. Since war's end, such places had sprung up all over the kingdoms as trade and curiosity, along with peaceful years finally permitting such luxuries as 'free time,' had encouraged an appreciation of arts from all over the known worlds. Combining the galleries with food had been a natural progression, and those from all walks of life entertained and educated themselves in such multi-use establishments.

All nodded and followed each other inside the converted building and the couples separated, the menfolk arranging for beverages for everyone, while the wives slowly began meandering down the myriad corridors to each exhibit.

Katara's fiancé gallantly escorted the Fire Lady through a doorway into some Water Tribe-inspired carving displays, knowledgeably discussing techniques and adding amusing anecdotes when passing certain pieces. Gradually moving faster than the last two members of the party, their laughter and camaraderie could be heard echoing to their forgotten partners. The ambassador and Lord followed them from the rear, more slowly, hesitantly…and uncomfortably.

The wife and her attendant were out of sight soon after, leaving the hallway behind them silent, though occupied by two other, far less cordial, dignitaries.

With just the two ex-lovers present, the corridor took on a claustrophobic air, flooding with tension and pushing them along towards more open spaces.

_Such a tight space_, they thought in unison, mutual anxiety feeding their internal fires. _The last time we were this close together, we were—_

Both swallowed and fought down panic. Or they told themselves it was panic—neither felt 'threatened' by the other. Just… anxious. Frustrated. Hungry.

_We have GOT to get out of here!_

Katara put aside the tea she'd been offered upon entering the next gallery. She glanced up at her former opponent-slash-lover; he stared straight ahead, ignoring her. She continued on, pretending to look at the work on the walls. _Don't look at his mouth. As long as you don't look at his mouth, you won't remember—oh no, I fail_, she fumed peevishly, and prayed she could find something else to distract her from the Sex God. Flustered, she stopped in front of the first painting she reached.

An ugly abstract piece of fruit glared back. _I doubt even Aang could identify this_, she mused nastily, thoroughly annoyed she'd been left 'alone' with the Fire Lord and his sexy mouth. _Sexy back, too_, helpfully provided her faultless memory. _I hate my brain right now,_ she decided simply. _Did not need to remember—_shealmost sighed languidly—_**that. **Geez, even him just standing there is antagonizing me…in a humiliatingly good way._

He glanced down at her a half-step later; she stared at the paintings, refusing to get suckered into anything that would no doubt end up a very public argument. _I can't tell if she's angry, or faking it, or… _He glanced back again and saw her eyes were slightly unfocused. _Frustrated_, his instincts declared unequivocally. _No question. _He continued on, pretending to pay attention to the sculpture situated nearby.

He examined the abstract bust of… something.

…_What in Agni is this supposed to be?_ he wondered, floored. _Is it sideways?_ He refused to tilt his head to the side to look, though, since it would be undignified – so he figured he'd just move it himself. For a split-second, a childish thought grabbed hold of him and he wondered if there was treasure inside. He couldn't help the snicker that escaped his lips.

The tempting sound caught her attention. She noticed him reach out and touch the sculpture cautiously, as it was clearly unbalanced on its pedestal– and the sight of his hands and fingers gently catching and cupping the delicate object sent a thrill down her spine as her insides tightened in recognition.

"This is wrong—we aren't supposed to touch… that," she mumbled faintly, holding out her own arm to stop him. Her voice trailed off, though, and she had no idea it had turned into a stifled sigh until he whirled on her a moment later.

She stared at his hands and remembered their attentions. Their explorations. Their… satisfaction. He hadn't done it to her intentionally, of course, touching the statue – but the sight of those hands…

_Yes,_ she conceded, giving in since it was too good a memory to ignore_. Now_… She felt the smile tug at her lips as she played out the last of the intimate moment in her mind's eye.

Zuko heard Katara's quick intake of breath as she tried to look away before he caught her lapse. He saw her face already partly flushed, recognized the haze of her eyes—

_His eyes were closed, but he knew his way around his room—he'd lived in it for years, and having her legs around him didn't slow him down as they stumbled to the bed. He'd glanced at her beautiful profile in the half-light, and hadn't been able to look away from the depths of her eyes. _

"_Get on your back," she'd breathed ravenously across his neck-- just before her teeth had grazed his ear. He'd nearly died, right then and there. A growl had erupted from his throat—they never made it to the bed._

Zuko's breath caught as the memory assaulted him, trapping him. He swore viciously.

_Damn you, woman!_

… and snatched her wrist, dragging her swiftly after him, bursting out into the black streets, and hailed a porter-carriage, forcing her inside—and immediately realized she was climbing in as expeditiously as she could, of her own volition. "Hurry," she gasped after him, already reaching hungrily for what she wanted. The rush had already tousled her hair and begged him to run his hands through it further. "_Now_," she demanded huskily, in no uncertain terms.

"Go!" The Fire Lord called thickly to the driver, waving him on and slamming the door behind him. The fog had thickened, cloaking them and for a moment the chauffeur just stared, wondering if the two harried adults had been a figment of his—admittedly, mildly inebriated—imagination.

"Where, sir?" bumbled the surprised gentleman, as he readied his mount, his beasts lumbering to stand. He glanced back and noticed all the carriage's curtains had been yanked closed in haste and still swung from the force of the pull.

"To the waterfront," instructed the man's muffled tones, from inside the carriage. "_GO!_"

The chauffeur settled his animals into a steady trot, their breath blowing small puffs of steam in the frigid night air. The carriage rumbled along at a steady, though accelerated, pace nimbly throughout the city streets. Some time later, they slowed as they approached the waterfront, and the driver knocked to alert his passengers of their impending arrival.

"Keep going!" called a throaty voice from inside the confinement, banging on the walls.

The chauffeur started off slowly, nervously twisting his cap and awaiting further instructions. "Faster!" called the voice again, more urgently this time, "Faster, _please!_ Now!"

The driver anxiously pushed his animals to plod a bit more determinedly and stuttered as he asked, "Wh-wh-where to now, sir?"

"Anywhere!" came the woman's breathy reply.

He whipped his beasts into a flurry, spurred on by the occasional cries from within the carriage at his back.

"Keep going!" the Lord and Lady yelled desperately, anytime he dared slow down. Wiping his brow, he kept on through the darkened roads and streets.

"Faster!" they called, too, and he drove harder, almost trying to escape, as if he were being chased by a demon which had nothing to slake its thirst but his own small ride.

He drove all through the night, racing through the neighborhoods, the townships, and the villages; past lakes, rivers, and the sea; through squares and alleyways he charged like a madman, trying to keep up with the hoarse demands of his passengers, circling some areas several times before continuing in another direction. The only time he saw an inch of either occupant was when a slim dark hand gracefully waved him on when he asked if he could take his beasts to water to rest and drink. "Keep going!" the imposing man inside the ornate compartment had then yelled harshly, banging brutally on the walls. "Don't stop!" The driver wondered if they'd been murdering each other—the sounds he'd heard erupting from the ornate cabin were positively savage and had made the hair on the back of his neck stand up—and that wasn't even mentioning the bursts of fire he prayed he'd imagined…

It went on for hours, _--"Keep going!"--_and the night seemed interminable to the terrified operator. His shoulders and legs ached from the flight, _--"More, further, faster!"--_ and his hands were raw from his grip on the leather reigns. He headed towards another low hill—it was just after dawn, and the light of the sun had freshened the countryside, and his spirits, in its glow. _Blessed be, it's finally daybreak!_ He rejoiced, and begged the Spirits for respite.

It's unknown whether the Spirits intervened, but the noise within the cabin had also started anew at the sun's re-emergence. Mercifully, it had, however, also prompted the spent couple to call out a final destination to their weary guide.

Exhausted, the poor driver returned to the city, his hair wild about his face, his beasts half-dead of thirst and fatigue. They slowly pulled to a stop before the hotel his occupants had last called out, an hour prior.

A woman, in torn finery where once had hung the best garments money could buy, calmly exited the carriage, nodding once in sympathy and gratitude to the driver before walking to her hotel, a smooth lilt to her measured, graceful step.

The man inside the carriage thumped on the roof and gave the driver directions to his own lodgings, and paid generously when he debarked, not another word uttered.

The driver looked down at his palm and marveled at the amount that shone back at him.

… and realized it was not for the privacy and ride he'd provided his passengers, but for his silence and confidence, instead.

/end

* * *

/AN: For those who haven't an undergrad degree in French, 'Madame Bovary' is a novel by French author Gustav Flaubert. It was published back in the 1800s, and had a scene very similar to the one above—a scene which caused a huge scandal at the time of its original publication; partly because of how 'passionately, animalistically, graphically sexual' it was, and partly because it dealt with two married individuals committing adultery so publicly together. If this scene seems familiar, you have run across it before – it's quite well known!. _–cues, "the more you know!" music—_

_/AN: In case it wasn't obvious, Ozai's final curse/punishment on Zuko was that he'd committed Zuko to an arranged marriage, in case Zuko ever became Fire Lord. Ozai's such a bastard, eh? (Or, I enjoyed making him one at any rate!)_

/AN: Finally, some Zutara for you! Hope it's ok. PS: Yes, I'm a "Georgia Nicholson" fan! Blame Hikki!

/AN: IMMENSE thanks to renagrrl for the concrit that improved this v.2.0!  
/AN: Version 2.0 uploaded 26 March/2007.


	7. Chapter 7 : The end of the day

**Series Title: Silk and Twisted  
Story Title: The end of the day  
Author: Moor  
Rating: M  
Disclaimer: I make no claim to "Avatar".**

A series of drabbles, one-shots, and other shorts all relating to sex, in one way or another. This round: Harula (Lover, this one's for you.)

* * *

"You don't need to do that, I'm not cold," remarked her royal highness, crown princess Azula of the Fire Nation.

Haru sat down directly behind her on the grassy knoll, long, athletic legs stretched out in front of him, on either side of her, and leaned back on his elbows. "I know," he replied, shaking his bangs from his kind green eyes. He let out a slow breath through his nose, peaceful. He loved nights like this. "I think you did a good job, earlier," he said.

He sensed, rather than felt or saw, her tense at his words. She hadn't taken his comment as a compliment, apparently. _She always was a prickly pear…_

He sat up and moved closer to her, pressing close to her so her back was against his chest. He bent his head forward, his long hair brushing her shoulder. His soft voice carried past the slender curve where her neck met her shoulder and the gentle earthbender's warm breath caressed her ear. She turned her head away from him, but he'd already caught the hint of colour in her cheeks. "No one thinks you've become weak."

Oh, _that_ earned him the silent treatment but good.

Some time later, though, Azula did relinquish her reign on the wordless conversation, eased, somewhat, by the starry sky above and the crashing seascape spread out below them. Since her friends had been dispatched to far-reaching corners of the Fire Nation, Azula had been left alone for the most part. While she was a charismatic leader, she also craved attention—and without adoration and companionship, she'd… had to find other ways to cope. It was on this hill that Haru had found her firebending, months earlier, sweat pouring down her face in concentration as she leapt through the air and executed a challenging move.

Of course, she'd brushed him off at first, when he'd introduced himself. But had gradually come to tolerate, and then expect his company. There was something he'd also found endearing about her drive and determination—and fascinating in her pride and unwavering confidence when she was so obviously struggling with her new position. She truly would have made a formidable Fire Lord or Lady (whichever she chose)—but while she would have led the people, she never would have had their heart. She barely acknowledged her own.

"Do they really think I'll be contained within such a pathetic role?" she railed now, mostly to herself, aloud. "Meager responsibilities and peasants as my superiors? I'll show them what it means to be Fire Nation nobility," she spat darkly.

Haru kneaded her tense back with strong, deliberate fingers. Her knots would refuse to ease for at least the first half hour, but after that, as she wound down, she would release her restlessness, her back against his capable hands, as she always did.

And so she did, leaning slightly against his chest as he rubbed her shoulders and down her arms, tonight even managing an occasional squeeze of her clenched fists.

"Have you heard from Mei and Ty Lee recently?" he asked, working his fingers in between hers. She shook her head, and he nodded.

"Have you sent word to them?" He felt her pause and stiffen slightly. _She still doesn't want to cave first. _Her stubbornness always made him smile.

"You don't need to do this, I said." Her voice was just as cutting as before.

_And this is when she always starts to protest and show her independence, like she doesn't need anyone… _

Keeping his kind tone light and unconcerned, Haru nodded slightly and said, "Yes, I remember."

She turned to frown at him, and her hair, which he'd loosened slightly to ease the tension in her neck, fell softly around her face. He loved it when she looked at him crossly like that.

Her gold eyes sought his green ones and he couldn't bring himself to act scared of her, for her, tonight—he was as tired as she was… but he knew it wouldn't go unpunished.

"Do you have no pride? How can you let yourself be controlled like this? By them? By me? Don't you want power of your own, your own destiny, fate?" The fire blazed behind her fierce gaze, and it called to him to meet it.

That wasn't how he planned to gain her trust, her respect.

"I'm patient; I learned to wait for what I wanted, and fight for what I needed," he said simply, remembering the time he'd spent alongside his father in the war.

Exasperated, she turned her back to him again.

He waited a few moments before opening his cloak and wrapping it around both of them, pulling her back to his chest and resting his head on her shoulder.

She felt him smile into her hair.

"You don't have to do this," she repeated coldly, but somehow softer this time.

"I know."

"Then why?"

"Because I want to."

Azula sniffed at his sympathies in derision. But she didn't move away.

"Just remember who's in charge," she informed him.

Haru smiled to himself. Of course he remembered.

He'd learned to wait a long time ago…

* * *

/AN: By request—and in all its unbeta-d glory! Dear gods, I'm so sorry I'm inflicting this on you—but it's been bumping around my head for a while now. Sorry, I'm not too familiar w/ this pairing, so this one may not have come across all that well. Concrit's always appreciated!

/AN: You may need to be an adult and have seen a pair of your close friends to recognise what's going on here... Sorry 'bout that. If you get it, kudos!


	8. Chapter 8 : The Best You Never Had

**Series Title: Silk and Twisted Tighter  
Story Title: The best you never had  
Author: Moor  
Rating: M  
Disclaimer: I make no claim to "Avatar".**

A series of drabbles, one-shots, and other shorts all relating to sex, in one way or another. This round: Jetko

AN: PLEASE READ THIS AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is a same-sex relationship one-shot. If this isn't your cup of tea, please don't read any further. Thanks!

* * *

"So you're going?"

Zuko nodded, tying the last of the tether-straps of his mount, his back to the speaker.

"Well just wait a sec, I'll go get my--."

There was a brief pause before Zuko spoke. "I'm going alone."

Jet stared at the scarred young man across from him, confused. "What do you mean? Without Longshot and Smellerbee? Then where are we going? They can meet us there on their own. You're right, it's better to travel in smaller numbers, less conspicuous."  
Zuko cut him off again, still not looking at him.

"Alone."

He tightened the cross-ties of his twin dao around him a final time before he turned to look at Jet.

"Thanks for your help. Good luck with your new life."

"Wait, what are you talking about?" Jet felt a jolt of panic as comprehension dawned on him, and he stepped closer to Zuko. "You're not going on your own."  
Zuko took a small pouch from his robes and tossed it to Jet, distracting the other man a split-second long enough to allow him to hop atop his ostrich-horse. The animal whinny-squawked and shifted as he settled himself in the saddle, then straightened when he commanded the reigns.

Jet had opened the pouch to find a small amount of money and some whet stones inside.

"For your hooks – I did them this morning, but the way you swing them around you'll need to sharpen 'em again within a few weeks."

Jet looked up and tried to catch Zuko's eyes, but the wide-brimmed hat cast too dark a shadow over the other young man's face for Jet to be able to discern any expression.

"You're not going," said Jet with false confidence. _You aren't leaving me. Not like everyone else, you can't, I won't let you._

Zuko finally looked him in the eyes.

"Goodbye."

He kicked the mount into a trot, but Jet grabbed the reigns desperately, dragging his feet to slow the bird. He didn't even realize he was doing it until he'd reached out and seized the leathers in a death grip.

"No!"

Zuko tried to shake the reigns to snap off the Freedom Fighter, yet Jet held tight.

"You're not going anywhere. Who said you could go? Huh? What do you think you're doing?"  
The firebender tried to ignore the angry man and kept his eyes facing forward, but Jet kept yelling and was bound to wake up the rest of the group soon. He looked down at his friend and tried to push him away with his hand.

"Let go, I'm going--."

"No, you're not. You're staying right here, because you're one of us. You're coming with us, and we're together, and you aren't leaving us, you aren't leaving the group, we're in this together, do you hear me? Together! That means you, and me, and that means you can't leave! You can't leave! You can't leave me, do you hear me? _You can't leave me!_"

Patience gone, Zuko's face hardened like a stone mask and he did the unthinkable. Lightning quick, he gave a quick kick to dislodge Jet from the reigns of his ostrich-horse, then followed through by drawing one of his twin dao and nearly slashing it to the young man's throat. He raised the blade, inch by painful inch, forcing Jet's stubborn, anguished head higher until his gaze met Zuko's cold, cold eyes.

"You're making me late."

Breathing hard, his heart in his throat, Jet felt pressure build behind his eyes. He didn't want it to happen. He begged the spirits to stop it from happening, to step in and help him keep this one man close to him, even for a few minutes longer, to do something to stop this pain that he knew was coming. But the fates weren't listening that morning, that dawn, that day that something new broke inside Jet and made him wish he'd never met the wonderful man he now recognized was leaving him for good, for bad, forever.

The shaggy haired youth reached up, and with one numb hand angrily pushed the blade of the sword away from his throat with a growl.

In a singular smooth motion, Zuko continued the movement and replaced it in its sheath on his back. He straightened and looked down at Jet again a moment longer, his eyes lingering on the man's reddened face and bared teeth as he tried to hold everything in, everything together, to see him off.

And as the sun came up over the nearby hill, the first pale rays of light shone around Zuko and limned his proud figure on the horse, illuminating the undamaged side of his face and catching enough reflection in his eyes to betray the sadness and loneliness that resonated in his heart… and the emotion, and shell, he refused to shed before another. He didn't say a word, just waited for Jet's next move.

"Get out of here, then." The hurt man's voice was husky, betrayed. "Just get the hell out of here, and never come back. Don't ever come near me again, and don't ever think of asking us for help. Do you hear me? Just get the Hell away from me!" He yelled, and knew he'd regret later what he was saying now but said it anyway because right now, it didn't matter. Nothing did. Fine, he wanted it this way. He'd have it this way.

The prince gave a curt nod, turned forward again, and trotted off, the sun casting a faint shadow across the dusty road as he set on his way. Even in the stillness, the mount made little noise as it proceeded. It was like he'd never been there, or had been some kind of spirit apparition.

Later that morning, Jet stumbled back into camp and fell into his bedroll, exhausted, beaten half to death in a scuffle-turned-brawl, and not even bothering to ask the others to set up watch for the day while he recuperated. He reeked of alcohol and dirt.

"Geez, what got into Jet?" asked The Duke, confounded by the sight of their normally charismatic leader as he lay bleeding here and there a bit on his sheets. The mud and swelling hid the stained tracks on his cheeks well, but not well enough. "It's like he lost his best friend."

_I think it's more than that_, said Longshot as he gave Smellerbee a sad, knowing look.

"Yeah… More like…," she paused, reflecting, "the fire, or hope, left him," she added, and went to cover their boss with a blanket. It was the blanket Zuko had used while he stayed with them.

Unconscious, Jet unknowingly burrowed deeper under the familiar weight and scent of the comforter."I'll be just fine… without you…" he mumbled drowsily. In the folds of his clothes, he clutched the pouch Zuko had given him, with the last trinket inside: a miniature carving of the _Blue Spirit_ mask. "Just… fine…"

/end this one; thank you for reading!

* * *

/AN: My first slash… Hope I did ok by you, Jetko fans!  
/AN: Emilie Simon's "The Frozen World" (from "La marche de l'empereur" OST) is fantastic... and partially inspired this fic.


	9. Chapter 9 : You Win

**Series Title: Silk and Twisted  
Story Title: You win  
Author: Moor  
Rating: M  
Disclaimer: I make no claim to "Avatar".**

A series of drabbles, one-shots, and other shorts all relating to sex, in one way or another. This round: Sokka x Suki, Take Two!

* * *

Sokka stood just beside Suki as she sat at their kitchen table that night. She'd cleared the dishes away soon after supper, and they'd decided to spend some 'quality' time together.

"Ok, now you wanna move it here," he said, pointing to where she should set her game piece. They'd been going over the rules of the Water Tribe strategy game for a few minutes and Suki was proving to be a very quick study—not that he was surprised.

The dark-haired woman nodded, but decided to move her game piece to a different location.

"No, I said—oh, wait, you're right, that's much better... Hey, you're really getting this!"

"Uh Sokka… you're kinda close," she said, glancing up at his proud face.

"What do you mean?"

"Your… you're uh, warming my knee."

Sokka glanced down. He hadn't even realized he'd moved so close, or where he stood in relation to her. He stayed where he was, and gave her a blank look.

"What, is that a problem?"

"Nevermind," she said, laughing internally to herself. "Your move."

Sokka looked down again. The pause was all Suki needed to realize she should have kept her comment to herself.

Sokka cracked a grin.

And then wiggled.

"No, darling, not like that…" Suki sighed in amusement.

She laughed a moment later when Sokka broke away, hauling her to her feet, and to their room.

* * *

/AN: Have some fun! Thanks for reading!


	10. Chapter 10 : Aftertheweddinging

**Series Title: Silk and Twisted  
Story Title: After the wedding-ing  
Author: Moor  
Rating: M  
Length: approx. 1450 words  
Disclaimer: I make no claim to "Avatar".**

A series of drabbles, one-shots, and other shorts all relating to sex, in one way or another. This round: KatAang!

* * *

The wind blew her loose hair lightly around her bare shoulders. The night was warm, and the stars provided all the light she needed to find her way along the path that twisted to meet him on the outcropping of rock. Her feather-weight slip flowed with each step she took until she reached him. She sat down next to him, in the arid grasses growing near the side of the temple.

They were alone; even the animals had traveled to the lower tiers of the high echelons and escarpments, innately sensing the two benders' need for privacy. The breeze occasionally rose to a gust before settling again, the dust occasionally rose to swirl and whorl past, and their sounds were peaceful, reassuring. He'd grown up here, and these noises had been the background music as he grew up.

Katara looked over at Aang, her gaze thoughtful. He kept his own thoughts to himself, but gave a rueful half-smile when he realized he was the focus of her attention; he didn't look back.

"Hey," he said, his eyes still on his hands in front of him. He was fiddling with a stalk of grass.

"Hey you, too." She sat cross-legged beside him, facing him. She waited for him to speak again, but he withheld his words. After a few minutes, she treaded in deeper. "Have you… Do you want to talk about it?"

He shook his head imperceptibly.

"Do you want me to talk about it with, or well, I guess, _at_ you?"

He didn't reply, but she understood from his discomfort that that wasn't it, either.

She wanted to reach out for him, but didn't think that was best yet, either.

"Are you… are you worried things will change?" she asked, her face warming slightly as the syllables tumbled off her lips, but her tone remained compassionate and sympathetic. It had taken a lot for her to say the words. She knew it had been on her own mind. She wondered if it had been on his. It had almost consumed her with anxiety at one point, making her heart swell to uncomfortable heights, her eyes tear up in frustration, and her teeth grind together as she fought the terror and exhaustion that worrying about him had conjured up within her… Until earlier this evening she'd decided she was just going to have to sit down and talk to him and find out.

From the sudden tensing and hunching of his shoulders, she knew she'd struck home. Even that small movement, that tiny indication, gave her reassurance and peace, however.

He shrugged, trying to downplay his reaction.

"Aang, talk to me, please…" Katara leaned forward slightly and reached out to run a hand lightly over his cheek.

Aang's lips thinned and tightened into a stubborn line, and his forehead creased in consternation. He was fighting hard against whatever was bothering him, too.

She waited, relaxing slightly at his efforts to come to a decision. She hoped he was deciding to talk with her, instead of her just talking at him. She smiled to herself a bit, sighing faintly.

"Aang…"

He started to open his mouth, but then clamped it shut again as if he'd been about to divulge a horrible secret. He wasn't sure what to say to her. She could tell.

"Aang, if you don't snap out of it I'm hauling you down to the reservoir and holding you under until you answer."

His head snapped up, disbelieving. "What?"

Katara smirked. _Finally!_ She'd have to thank Toph later.

"Talk to me, Aang. What's wrong?"

"It doesn't matter."

"It does matter—look at you, you can't even look me in the face!" As Katara finally made her exclamation, the look on her fiancé's face was full of apology – whatever he was holding back was more compliment than insult, in this case. He glanced sideways at her, and then down again, and then blushed a bit at his obviousness. She calmed him with a smile.

"See! Now start talking. It's a wedding Aang, not a tribunal—no one is judging either of us. We're supposed to be happy!"

"It's not the wedding."

"Then what is it?"

He shifted.

She watched him.

He shifted again, more uncomfortably.

And it dawned on her.

"Is it after the wedding… that you're worried about?"

He paled with embarrassment.

"I don't want things to change, between us."

Her heart beat a bit stronger at his concern.

"I don't know how they'll change… but I think some things will definitely be… different," she admitted.

"See, that's exactly what I don't want! I don't want things to change, Katara. I like things the way they are. I love you the way you are; I don't want to change you! AndIdon'twanttochangeintosomeoneyoumightnotlike,either!"

"Aang!" she caught his wildly flailing hands and pulled him back down to her, his face inches from her own. "I don't mean a bad 'different' or a bad 'change' – it's a change… I want."

He looked at her with some confusion, not entirely sure how to interpret her words. Their group had been together so long they could anticipate each other's moods and finish each other's sentences-- but, conversely, it also meant the two of them had had nearly no time alone together to have any kind of private discussion... Let alone anything relating to intimacy.

"I've been looking forward to having a life with you," she smiled, "without everyone else there, too, all the time, in the same tent or rooming house or inn…"

She couldn't help it – she chuckled at his shocked expression. It clearly read, _"You do, too?"_

"Do you think I'm being… immature?" he asked her, pulling his hands from hers and closing them in loose fists close at his sides. He still had his head bowed to her. _He felt it was something to be shameful about?_

She covered her grin with a smile, and shook her head, her hair brushing against her back from the movement. She let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

"No, I just think you've been thinking about my happiness so much you've started forgetting about your own. Don't you want… this, too? The after-the-wedding?" She asked, her voice a bit hesitant. She hadn't even considered that he may not be interested in… the after-the-wedding.

The hunger in his eyes when he stared at her the next moment stole her breath away.

"Ok. Ok, well, ok. Yeah. Good, that's good." She stuttered, taken aback at how much he'd matured in that way without her realizing, and just how much restraint he'd been exerting. _Must've been blind to miss his signals._ "Me, too," she added, biting her lower lip and keeping her eyes on him.

"So," he said.

"So," she agreed.

"Things will change… but in a good way?"

"Things will change… and we'll be _ok_. It'll probably even become a new kind of 'normal'. We just need to talk things out so we understand each other… once we start after-the-wedding-ing."

"I think one of us will have to actually say the words at some point, too."

"Yeah, that too."

"You still think Sokka's spying on us?"

"About three paces to the left behind the bush."

"Ah."

"Yeah."

"Toph?"

"I think she's further up the hill, preparing to shower us with 'wedding dust'."

"Fantastic."

"Think we can make a break for it and elope before they catch us?"

He grabbed his glider and snapped it open at the first mention of flight. Hauling Katara to her feet and into his chest, Aang leapt off the cliffside just as Toph 'shoveled' half a hillside of dirt at them in 'celebration'. Katara's arms wrapped themselves automatically, comfortably, around Aang's neck as they sailed off the ledge, and he smiled and held her closer. "Hang on!" he shouted.

"Aang, you get back here with my sister, do you hear me!? Don't you dare go AWOL the night before your wedding – my dad will kill me if Katara doesn't show up… or gets left at the altar!"

"I don't think Katara's being left behind, Sokka… we are." Toph huffed indignantly, but then waved encouragingly in the general direction of the departing lovebirds.

"See you two tomorrow!" she yelled, one hand up to her mouth as a megaphone.

"Tomorrow," agreed Katara as she smiled at Aang.

"Tomorrow," he smiled back. Then grinned brilliantly. "Tomorrow _night_."

"And here I was worried," Katara scoffed at herself in mock-derision as they soared on the encouraging air currents, towards the mist that surrounded the nearby peaks.

"Oh, no worries there," assured Aang.

"Then make for that mountain… right… over… there…." She let go of him with one arm to point to a mountain in the near distance. "And we'll talk a bit … about the after-the-wedding-ing."

"Thanks."

She smiled back. "My pleasure."

* * *

AN: Sorry 'bout the delay on this one -- I forgot I'd written it, geez. Thanks for reading!


	11. Chapter 11 : Tilt your head a little

**Author: moor / beyondthemoor on LJ  
****Title: Tilt Your Head a Little  
****Part : One-shot  
****Genre: Romance/PWP/lemon  
****Fandom: Avatar: TLA  
Series: Silk & Twisted  
****Pairing: Zutara  
****Length: 9000 words, approx.  
****Rating: M**

**Disclaimer : "Avatar: The Last Airbender" and all related rights belong to their original creators… (I am not among their ranks.)**

**AN: This is the thank-you fic I wrote for Habit, who left the 125****th**** review for "Merits"! I hope you like it, Habit!  
AN: WARNING! Possible spoilers (sort of) for "The Boiling Rock" parts 1 & 2. **

****

A series of drabbles, one-shots, and other shorts all relating to sex, in one way or another. This round: Zutara!

* * *

"_**Tilt your head a little…**__**"**_

"You think you can make it alone out there?" snarled Zuko as he grasped Katara's wrist tighter. His hair fell loosely to cover his scarred face and he flattened her against the stone wall of the darkened alleyway, behind a pile of broken crates while the soldiers ran past but a few meters away, weapons raised.

Through her wild tangled hair the Water Tribe warrior glared straight back with venomous hate. It was dark, but her eyes glinted fiercely.

"How could you do something so stupid?"

"Someone had to help them, they were suffer-."

"That doesn't mean _you_ had to be the one to do it!" Voice cracking and barely controlled, he shook her, his gold eyes flashing and showing he wanted nothing more than to wring her neck. The violent gesture was slightly futile as his warm, larger body pinned her to the cold wall. Every inch between the young man and woman met in contact, making both uncomfortable.

In truth Katara knew he was right – her own brother had berated her for posing as the Painted Lady before to help others. And here she was, healing again – but in broad daylight in a Fire Nation town. It had been an accident… sort of.

The crowds had gathered so quickly around the community well, each person telling friends & family a healer had arrived… it hadn't taken long for the local authorities to part the children and families who'd surrounded her, and even less time for them to pick up on her Water Tribe heritage. Instant enemy.

It had been a mess, and their group had paired off & split to evade capture. Suki & Sokka one way, Toph & Aang another, Jin Tseng & Hakoda somewhere else – Katara had missed where. That had left her with Zuko, who'd hauled her bodily to her feet while she was still healing the young child with the broken arm.

"I'm not done yet," she'd protested as he'd tried to cover her with a cloak to conceal her identity.

"We're all done for if you don't start moving," his twin dao had shone brightly in the morning light as he'd drawn his blades and faced the closest soldiers. He'd been about to push the child away until the little one looked up at him, terrified at the sight of the wicked-looking edges swinging so close to his head.

"Argh!"

Teeth clenched, swords re-sheathed, child in one arm and dragging Katara with the other, Zuko had kicked through the Fire Nation troops and they'd escaped.

The villagers had rallied to protect Katara.

The families had tightened ranks to protect Zuko, who carried the child.

The little boy had dozed off a little while after they'd entered the alley, the excitement and race to safety having exhausted his slight, malnourished frame. A tussled head rested on the tall young man's shoulder now, while drool balled and dribbled occasionally down his collar. Zuko shifted the young child slightly in his arms to re-balance him.

Ignoring his chastising Katara focused on the child again and raised a hand to touch the warm, tattered-clothed back.

"He's breathing better, now that he's in less pain," she said tightly. "We have to take him back to his family."

_She wanted to go back?_ Zuko thought he would explode.

"NO!" His eyebrows shot up to his hairline in incredulity. "We can't! We have to get back to the others before anything else happ-."

"_There they are!"_

Not even bothering to curse, Zuko turned and followed Katara as they ran further down the alley, further into the city's slums.

The shadows pulled longer, nipping at their retreating heels as early morning changed to afternoon.

* * *

The awning had collapsed after what must have been an earthquake, going by the cracks in the building's foundation. The once-colourful material had fallen to the side, covering up the old storefront and blocking the interior from view.

"We'll be safe in here for a while," Katara said after assessing the wreckage. "We can rest, and then find our way home."

It had taken them until suppertime to get the boy back to his family. The light was fading and the pair was hungry after their trek across the village's slums.

_xXx_

Tired, but still walking erect, they slid behind the awning and let their eyes adjust to the darkness.

"There's no one here."

"That's the point."

Zuko nodded and moved further in to the craggy room, his eyes taking in everything in sweeps and glances.

For her part Katara stayed at his side, water-adorned arms held in front of her in an easy stance that would let her attack or defend, depending on the trigger. After they'd fled with the boy, it had become their standard placement; side by side, ready for anything. They'd been fighting together – and each other – long enough to know exactly how the other responded… Depending on each other all day had become abnormally normal.

They reached the rear of the room and declared it clear; she righted a broken table, and he held his hand aloft to afford them some illumination to set out their rations. Their meager portions laid out, Zuko extinguished the glow and they sat in silent darkness.

"You aren't going to criticize me for healing the villagers?" she asked him tentatively some time later as she nibbled her fruit. Not that she was spoiling for a fight… but she'd expected at least some scathing insults about her priorities from the oldest of her peers.

"No," he replied simply.

"… Then why did you get mad? Haven't you ever wanted to help someone, despite it going against your 'priorities'?"

He ignored the anger tingeing her words. The memories of his uncle, and the Avatar, were clear enough to him.

"You can help the many, or you can help the few, Katara," he said quietly. "You vowed to help the Avatar return peace and balance to the world – but it seems like that pledge takes a second seat to your sensitivities whenever we come across a sick or injured peas—person," he amended. He could feel her tensing across from him, and knew he'd struck a nerve.

"They need help," she started, but he interrupted her sharply.

"The entire world needs help, Katara. We are the ones who have to help _all_ of them, and that means _everyone_. You can't keep playing favourites or else we'll never fix what's wrong. We'll never take the Fire Lord down. We'll never depose my father!" Neck cording with every effort to restrain his frustration, Zuko now sat up straight, preparing to rise from his knees. "So you know what? Yes, everyone will need help, and we'll have lost our chance to give them _all_ a shot at a better life. You can heal them when we've helped them—all. But you can't keep putting everyone, yourself, your friends, Aang – the Avatar – in such a risky position all the time."

The young woman glared at where she thought he sat in the darkness. His words, his tone hurt because everything he said was true, and she knew, had always known it, but didn't know how to stop herself from helping others. A part of her refused to walk away when there was even the smallest chance she could help, could save a life.

"So you're saying I'm selfish?" She swallowed over a dry, hard lump in her throat. The fierce bender knew she could seize the hot anger simmering within her, indignant that he'd dare say such things to her; but she was honest enough with herself to realize the truth behind Zuko's words, and to know her anger was self-directed.

"You're putting your abilities, and opportunities, above those of the mission."

"So you are saying. I'm. Selfish."

It was full dark in their hideout now; no light filtered through the chinks in the cracked awning or piles of rocks obscuring the entranceway. Night had fallen. This area of the town didn't have any night markets, and the citizens had retired to bed. The air was very still. The benders didn't move to disturb it, either.

Food sat solidly in their stomachs, neither interested in eating anymore.

Zuko's clothes made a soft sound as he sat back, too tired to argue anymore. He balled his hood up behind his head as he lay down on the uneven ground. Back turned to his companion, his breathing slowed and he tried to relax. Fighting wouldn't get them anywhere that night, and she wasn't his responsibility… well, she was – but she was also responsible for herself. She had to face her own demons and take ownership of her own actions and the consequences thereof – including how her decisions affected the group. They could have been setting up camp in a (relatively) safe wooded area somewhere isolated in the Fire Nation, together with the rest of the group, and instead they were scattered to the four winds. They didn't even know if the others were safe.

Zuko clenched his eyes shut and his fists bunched in his robe. How could she have been so stupid?

Katara moved away from the table, put away her food and stared at the ceiling for a bit. A sigh crossed her lips as she fought boredom and fatigue. Arms around her knees, she rocked a bit and tried to find a way to pass the time until they'd leave their safehouse. After keeping her arms at the ready all day waterbending soldiers out of the way, she wasn't interested in drawing the familiar liquid from its water-skin at her side. She sighed again. She really had done it.

The sad sound of her breathing irked the young man, and keeping his eyes closed, he let out his own sigh. "What?" he asked. "Something wrong?"

Katara shook her head.

"Katara? Are you ok?" he asked, more worried this time. They hadn't even asked each other if they'd been hurt when they reached the hideout that night. For all he knew, she was suffering from a wound somewhere on her person. The possibility that she may be hiding and in pain hadn't occurred to the shocked young man. "Katara," he repeated, more urgently. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

He bended a small flame in his hand and looked around for her.

"Are you crying?" his quiet voice carried all the incredulity he felt, and more.

"No," she snapped, rubbing at her eyes.

"Did the soldiers get you? Why aren't you healing yourself?" Did it work when a Waterbender healed herself, he wondered as he approached her.

Then he reached out a hand to her shoulder to force her to look at him. Whiskey eyes examined her as best they could while the object of their focus tried to fidget and avoid them.

Finally Katara pushed Zuko hard in the chest and forced him to back up. The motion made the flame he held flicker, but it didn't go out.

"Stop it, I'm fine."

"And I'm a hogmonkey's uncle."

"Right twice in one night," she muttered, glaring at him.

"What is with you? Is it what I said earlier, or is it just me?" She stubbornly refused to answer. "I heard something, I came to see how you're doing, and you pushed me away--."

"I don't need you," she said levelly, meeting his eyes.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Then let me go grab those Fire Nation soldiers you're so desperate to invite to tea."

"Back off, Zuko. I mean it."

"Or you'll what? Cry some more?"

That did it.

"You don't know anything about me!" Leaping to her feet she uncorked her water-skin and threw her shoulders back, automatically taking an offensive stance.

"I know enough to know you're mad at yourself for making a mistake, for putting everyone in danger. I know you're stubborn and proud and refuse to give up what you believe in," their voices rose in the stone-walled room, echoing slightly off the dense surfaces. She drew her water; he raised his hands to fend off the attack she was preparing. "I know you were crying pitifully alone in the dark, because you'd rather keep everything to yourself than share and possibly end up finding someone, a friend, to help you and make you feel less guilty!"

"Enough, stop it!"

"And I know you want to lash out at someone, anyone, right now because you don't know how to talk to others about your problems, about how to reconcile what your values are and what your priorities are." He stepped to the side; she mirrored the movement, keeping him in front of her. "How sick you feel when you have to give up what you've always believed in, and take the risk that others take care of themselves while you work for a greater good. Whether others will still like you, respect you, welcome you back when you left them, all of them, each one of them, in order to help the many."

They'd started circling each other as he spoke, he calmly, she baring her insecurities every time he hit at a chink in her emotional armour.

Katara's blue eyes shone.

"I know, Katara," his arms relaxed faintly, and lowered slowly in a gesture of peace. He stopped moving and watched her warily, sympathetically. The battle warring within her was so familiar his heart ached at the similarities in their situations.

"You don't know anything," she whispered, refusing to concede yet. She felt her voice come out strangely strangled, and held her stance.

"My uncle who did everything to teach me what was right; my mother who was exiled to protect me; my pointless search for the Avatar for three years of my life!... They did everything they could for me to help me reach my goal. I threw away everything I had worked for, that they had worked for, lost everyone close to me when I joined you. Everything I'd fought for became worthless, useless," her arms had frozen, and she stopped moving completely as she listened to him. His hand held a small light, casting shadows over and between both of them as they stood there in the open room. "Then I joined you, the 'enemy' after giving everything up – and even then, the one person who still cared for me came to save me," Mai, the girl he'd left in order to protect her from the traitorous reputation that would follow his wake. "I know I don't deserve their respect. Their hope. Their forgiveness." He took a step towards Katara; her arms had fallen to her sides uselessly. "But I know now that the only way to make their sacrifices worth something is to do what is best for everyone. I did my best because they believed in me. For me, that 'best' was to help you and the Avatar."

"Why are you telling me this?"

The air had quieted again, and the space between them warmed. He instinctively put his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the face. The light went out.

"You're not alone in this, Katara. We've all given up something in order to help Aang," he said softly. "Stop beating yourself up because you can't heal the world yet. We're getting there – but there's just this one thing we have to do first."  
In the dark they stood together, she leaning in to him, he encircling her while she rested her head in the crook of his shoulder. No light and no darkness separated them.

"The Fire Lo—your dad?" she asked, muffled by the roughened silk of his robe.

He nodded, his chin oddly comforting her as it rested and rubbed the top of her head lightly. "Yeah."

Both wanted to sigh, but neither did.

"But as soon as that's done you can go back to happy-healing glow-time, I promise," he said.

"… 'happy-healing glow-time'?" she asked, tilting her head back to look up at him, eyebrow raised skeptically.

"Or whatever you call it," his cheeks warmed. Actually, all of him was quite warm at that moment – and he started realizing how close they were. "Uh, did you want to… uh, should I… uh…"

"Hmm? Oh. Oh!" she startled at the same realization, and they disentangled themselves quickly, faces flaming.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to--." He blubbered.

"I know, and I didn't either, I mean, I, you, you have a girlfriend!"

"Yes, Mai! I think she's rotting in a prison now, or dead, but girlfriend, yes, and you have boyfriends, too. Or a boyfriend, at least. I mean--."

"Wait, what with the what now?" Katara looked at him, confused.

"Well, I mean Jet, and Haru, and Aang, I mean he's the Avatar and he likes you, but there's The Duke and Pipsqueak," Zuko rambled on, unaware of the young lady's rising temper.

"You think I was with Jet? Haru? Aang!?" she seethed.

"Well, I mean, you all travel together, and –oh! I almost forgot Teo!"

"_ARGH!"_

The water moved so quickly from her side to his face the usual _shk-pop_ of the cork was lost in the magnificent _splash-slap_ of the water.

"… What did I--," the young man started, clearly insulted, but Katara took a menacing step towards him.

"You thought I was with _everyone_?"

"… well, not Toph. Or your brother."

"Well thank the spirits for small favours that I'm not a 'keeping it in the family' kind of girl!"

"Are you mad at me?"

"Of course I am – you just paired me up with everyone in our group! I'm surprised you didn't … no, never mind. I'm not going there. I can't believe you, Zuko. That you thought I was like that."

His inner flame increased slightly to bend the water from his clothes, and he regained his footing to look at her; he raised a hand to firebend more light for them again.

And her words sunk in. _Oh._ He'd implied a number of unfair things, he realized. The young woman across from him was none of them.

"I'm sorry," he said, glancing at her and away. "I should have thought before I said anything."

She let herself calm down a moment before speaking. "Apology accepted" begrudgingly, her tone implied. Her arms wrapped around her middle.

"I just thought that you'd had a boyfriend. I just didn't think about whom."

"Well thanks for thinking of me," she retorted sarcastically. "I might as well have been dating you! I don't have a boyfriend. I don't need one, anyway. I'm too busy protecting Aang and trying to save the world to relax and go on dates right now, thanks."

Zuko relaxed a bit, his shoulders slumping. She had a point.

"At least I got to see Mai, when I was…home. You really didn't meet anyone you liked, when you were travelling?" he asked a bit self-consciously. He hadn't meant to turn the conversation personal, or in a relationship-direction, but it wasn't as awkward as he'd assumed it would be.

Katara's memories betrayed her, and her face coloured.

"No one, really."

Zuko's eyebrow quirked. "At all? Wow, you're a nun, Katara."

Her blush was replaced by an angry crimson blaze. "Well, you were kind of stalking us, so it was hard to make friends without you potentially capturing, torturing or killing them to get information about us. We couldn't put people at risk like that."

"… I'm sorry."

"Yeah, so am I."

"…Was he a good guy?"

Katara's glance swerved from the ground up to Zuko's face. She sighed and sat down, pulling her arms around her legs again. "He wasn't the first time I met him… I kind of froze him to a tree," she admitted. "But the second time, yeah. He was a good guy. He did what was right."

"Is he one of the gang?" asked Zuko. He couldn't think of anyone in the group who would have betrayed them, not that he knew them intimately or that they'd become bosom-buddies since he'd arrived. But still, no one gave off any hint of resentment.

"No," she said softly. "We left him. In the catacombs in Ba Sing Se, under Lake Laogai," her voice turned to a husky whisper. "He didn't make it out."

Zuko lowered his arm a bit and sat down beside her, laying his hand palm-up on his knee to provide them light.

"I knew a guy who meant well but was kind of obsessed with his own definition of 'right'. He would have been a great friend, if we'd been on the same side. I lost track of him in Ba Sing Se, too." He paused a moment. "After he tried to kill me."

"Fancy that. Someone wanted to kill you?"

"Being with the Avatar seems to attract all the wrong people, sometimes," he joked darkly and remembered his own past, his mouth quirking up at the side.

"Some of the right ones, too, though," said Katara. This time her shoulders slumped as exhaustion consumed her. It had been a long day; and she was losing ground fast. A yawn escaped her mouth and she covered it with her hand.

"Are you tired? You should rest. I'll keep watch for a bit and wake you in an hour," offered Zuko.

"No, s'ok. You rest, I'll keep watch…"

Zuko rolled his eyes at her stubborn pride. "Fine, we'll sit here and both keep an eye out until we can go."

"Mmm-hmmm," she murmured, eyes already closed. Katara was asleep within minutes; she slumped against him soon after.

Smiling wryly, Zuko shifted and put his arm around her to keep her from falling over onto the rocks shards scattered on the ground. It was going to get uncomfortable for both of them if they were to stay in their current position. Sharp and dull edges already dug into his back when he tried to lean against an old, fallen beam for support.

Zuko extinguished the flame in his hand. Gathering the Waterbender gently in his arms, he got up and carried her bridal-style to the patch of clear floor he'd been lying down on before. He put down his cloak and lay her upon it, and then covered her with her own. She didn't stir.

He sat down beside her and kept watch for a while, listening for any sound that may betray a soldier investigating or even a neighbour snooping about. All was calm.

Until Katara started to mumble in her sleep.

"No… don't trust you…"

At first Zuko thought she was speaking to him. The next words convinced him he was wrong. Very wrong.

"… Jet, go… Not again. Hurt… Sokka. Village. Holding me…" The dream was vivid enough she thought she was arguing with Jet.

"Jet?" asked Zuko, unable to ignore the babble. It helped keep him awake.

"Jet, yes… was bad. Hooked swords…"

"He hurt you?"

"… hurt everyone, at first. No trust…"

Curiousity coursed through Zuko. She could hear him, but didn't seem to realize it was him.

"Was he a Freedom Fighter?" He had to be sure it was the same person.

"Yes… Fight… dead…"

The Firebender's blood ran cold. Jet was dead?

"Jet's dead?"

"Yes. Lake Laogai… catacombs. Long Feng…" Her voice sounded odd – Zuko bended a tiny flame to see her clearly, and noticed the reflective shine of water at the edges of her eyes.

He had to stop. She was getting upset and he'd made it worse.

"Shhhh, it's ok. It's over now."

Katara shifted in her sleep to her side, her emotions stirred and affecting her slumber.

"Shhhhh…." Zuko instinctively rubbed her back to try and calm her, half-pulling her into his lap to reach her more easily.

It was when she calmed and her breathing evened out that he relaxed again and started to feel a twinge guilty about how he'd manipulated her.

He brought her up to sitting in his lap, her head tucked into the shoulder the little boy had not been curled up on. He continued rubbing her back, his thoughts elsewhere, back to the argument that had started earlier.

"Jet, huh?" Wonders never ceased.

Zuko felt a stab of anger in his heart. Jet would have used the Avatar and his friends to meet his own ends. Katara hadn't deserved that. She'd never had a boyfriend and probably hadn't stood a chance against a charismatic person like Jet. Even if she'd said he was a good guy the second time around – he'd probably hurt her deeply the first.

As he thought, his hand ran slowly up one side of her back, traced the top of her neck gently, and caressed her side on the way down. It was instinctive, a gesture he found comforting to give. Going by how relaxed she was, it seemed to be just the thing for her, too. He moved on to her arms, bundled in front of her tightly. Up the top of the forearm, smoothly over her shoulder, then down, a touch over the inner skin of her elbow, down to her wrist to rest on her tanned, slender fingers. He stretched his hand overtop of hers a moment, noticing the way his hand could completely cover hers, warm it, measure it and glide over it before starting the run reverently up to her shoulder again. She wore her sleeveless top under her cloak, and her skin was soft to his touch. Apart from the calluses on her palms and fingers, he noticed when he flipped her hand over to touch the sensitive skin on the other side. She worked hard not just at her bending, but at all the other chores and work to be done, too. She hadn't been kidding when she'd mentioned not having time for dating.

Zuko extinguished his flame again and moved Katara's limp body until her back rested against his chest, their hearts beating in similar rhythms.

He opened her arms and rested her hands on his knees, and slowly massaged from the tips of her fingers across her palm and to her wrists.

In front of him, in the dark, Katara's eyelids fluttered slightly. She was still sitting up… but she was so warm… It felt so relaxing… A smile touched her lips and she floated in the half-asleep state, enjoying the dream of the day-spa massage.

Zuko switched his hands slightly to continue stroking her slowly, but now just with his fingertips. Up, over, down… He shifted slightly to lean forward and placed her hands in her lap; the change in position was just enough to unbalance and jolt Katara forward, too, however, and he caught her deftly around the middle before she slid to the ground.

She woke. As his breath tickled Katara's ear, she scrunched her eyes shut, then opened them. It was dark.

Someone's hands were around her.

Someone's chest was behind her.

Someone's breath was blowing softly in her ear.

_Fight!_

Lightning-quick, she whipped her hands to her sides to access her only source of water, and opened her mouth to scream.

Zuko clamped a hand over her mouth and kept his other arm around her in a vice-grip.

It was just in time – a moment later they both heard a troop of soldiers clanking in the street.

"Check the abandoned houses, the alleys and the nearby sources of water. They could still be in the village," they heard one woman say.

"Two more stops after this and we can return to camp," confirmed another.

Katara's eyes widened. _Soldiers!_ She had to escape, but how?

"Be very quiet," Zuko's lips were to her ear, whispering orders. "Do you understand?"

She nodded quickly; anger and fear warred within her about how to react to him touching her, but for now, they had bigger problems. Zuko swiftly and silently threw Katara's cloak overtop of them, effectively hiding them and making it look like an old tarp had been left in the rubble.

Every muscle she had tightened within Katara at the anticipation of a battle. Couldn't Zuko at least let her loose so she could defend herself?

Another reason the situation bothered her was because of the dreams she'd had since Zuko had joined their group. They'd happened occasionally before he'd joined them, too, but she'd chalked them up to nightmares and stress then. The dreams she had, more and more often now, were… frankly too close to what she was currently doing with him. But with less clothes and lots of candles and occasionally very intimate… noise. The real thing, with the real, hard body behind her, was something more scary than exciting. She didn't know what to do.

"We're hidden behind the rubble, they won't see us if they just peek in quickly and go. We can't move. Do you understand?" The softness of Katara's skin against his neck and cheek tempted him to say more just to stay so close to her, but he held back. The Waterbender in his arms was tighter than a bow and ready to snap. If she didn't calm down, he was worried she'd lose her strength completely. He couldn't risk that.

"You need to relax," he murmured urgently.

_Yeah, you try and relax when someone has their arms around you_, Katara thought darkly as each word he murmured against her tickled her earlobe. Her insides were in knots of discomfort, and not from the rocky floor. From being held by someone, a man, in such an intimate position was not reassuring to her in the last at that moment. His sword-roughened hand still covered her mouth, though, so she couldn't speak. It was infuriating to be held like a prisoner. And why did a certain dream have to surface itself in her memory so powerfully at that moment?

_Not helping_, she scolded her subconscious.

"Katara, relax," he insisted, so quietly it was no more than a puff of warm breath down her neck, hearing the soldiers close in. "Don't fight me."

_Let me go!_ She wanted to scream, but couldn't shift enough to glare at him and convey the message.

Exasperated, he heard her breathing getting more ragged as she struggled against him. It wasn't working – the sounds would be too loud if the soldiers stepped into the abandoned building.

Slowly he released the grip he held on her mid-section, hoping it would be enough to calm her.

… And started rubbing his fingertips in a circle over her tummy.

Her sharp intake of breath and the sudden freezing of her body told Zuko all he needed to know.

"Stay still," he whispered, continuing the slow, sensual caress over her belly. "I'll let you go as soon as it's safe, I promise. But we can't move."

The soft words, the promise, and the feeling of his warm hand over the smooth planes of her stomach paralysed her.

From the broken awning at the front of the store, the noise of rubble being shifted and pushed away sounded clearly. The soldiers were getting closer.

Through the cloak's cloth the room grew faintly lighter – someone had brought in a torch to look around, or there were Firebenders in the group.

Zuko stilled his hands; instead he now kneaded Katara's belly, making no sound at all. For her part, Katara kept still and listened as carefully as she could.

"Anything in there?" asked a soldier who'd stayed outside.

"Not that I can see. Hold on, I'll check a bit further back."

The footsteps shuffled closer, tripping a bit on a broken chair leg that stuck out from the wreckage.

The soldier grumbled unhappily.

"Anything?"

"No, just a ruined store. There's nothing back here."

"Come on out, let's catch up with the others…"

Stumbling occasionally on his way out, the soldier passed by within a few feet of the hidden benders.

Behind her, Katara felt Zuko stiffen and shift minutely into a position that would make it easier for him to defend them. The hand over her mouth held fast, but the one on her stomach flattened and hauled her body tightly against his, moulding her to him; she realized he planned to flatten her to the ground and cover her with his own body to protect her if it came down to a fight.

Part of her was incensed he didn't consider her capable of taking care of herself in a confrontation – she was a waterbending master! Another part of her… kind of felt relieved she had someone looking out for her for once.

"Hurry up!" called the female soldier stationed outside.

Fire Nation soldiers always followed orders, and the one investigating the rubble was no exception. He strode purposefully past them and out the entranceway, avoiding the piles of rock and brick strewn across the floor. His footsteps retreated down the road, faded and disappeared.

As he left, the light within the store disappeared.

All was silent again.

Katara tried to shift her head to speak to Zuko, but he still held her close.

"Zuko," she said against the palm of his hand.

"Hmm?" he pulled her back with him as he relaxed back and put his mouth to her ear.

"Letmego," she tried to say, but it was lost in the skin of his palm.

"… Not yet," he said. He wasn't sure why, but he felt he needed to keep her close for a bit yet. He wanted to nibble her earlobes, too…

Katara's eyebrows knit. She was getting too hot from being held so closely under the cloak. Eager to be free again, she struggled a bit, working one of her hands free to pull at the arm he kept across her shoulders and hand at her mouth.

Still, he held on to her; but she managed to pull some of the fingers away from her lips.

"Zuko," she hissed angrily, "let go. They're gone."

He wasn't sure himself why he insisted on holding her now the immediate danger had passed. He knew he should have felt ashamed for holding a girl hostage. He didn't, though. Having her so close had made him feel protective, responsible, like a man.

"Stay close," was all he could think of to say, and clamped his hand down over her mouth again. But he didn't stop there. He pulled her head back slightly, exposing her throat to him as he leaned forward over her shoulder.

His other hand started moving over her stomach again – but there was a change in them, in their purpose… He no longer wished to calm her; he wanted something else.

The sensual movement of his long, capable fingers, warmed by his firebending instincts, played over her shirt slowly, but strongly.

"Jet was your only boyfriend?" he asked, lips moving against her throat instead of her ear. He spoke softly, but wasn't whispering anymore, and she felt the timbre of the words reverberate through him and her everywhere they touched.

His hand still covered her mouth, so she tried to move her head. No, he hadn't been her boyfriend… really. It was complicated.

Zuko moved from her tummy to gently squeeze her sides. The rhythm felt wonderful, but Katara was tired of being someone's captive.

The minute his hand moved away from her stomach it was clear for her to twist away. She contorted herself and was nearly free when he forcefully but gently tilted her head back, moving his hand from her mouth to her neck, just under her chin.

"Zuko," she gasped, trying to take in air to breathe. "Let me go."

"No."

"Now, or I'm going to…" She reached for her waterskin, only to find the familiar pouch was gone.

"You don't need it," said Zuko, knowing exactly what she fumbled to find.

Katara stilled again. Her breathing was ragged, and now she felt more scared of Zuko than she had of the soldier. The soldier had just been doing his job; Zuko… had made things personal. She wasn't ready for 'personal'.

"You need to relax, Katara. You won't meditate, you haven't been to one of your girlie spas with Toph in ages, and you've never had a proper boyfriend. I know what it's like to work so hard, so much you don't know what fun is anymore--."

"I have plenty of fun," she interrupted him curtly.

"Have fun with me, then," he urged softly, and kissed her neck with the gentlest touch of his mouth.

Katara pushed at him, uncertain of whether he was serious or not. "Wow, Zuko, you really know how to make a girl feel special. Or like a personal 'service' floozy."

Frustrated, Zuko shifted his legs to accommodate her more comfortably between them, and hold her against him. A growl rumbled in his throat and he couldn't find the right words to tell her what he wanted, and why.

"Why are you doing this?" She demanded in exasperation, wishing she could bite him. Butterflies in her stomach fluttered at the thought, and she wished she could ignore them. Because she wanted to be mad at him, but couldn't deny that she was a bit excited by the attention and his forcefulness, too.

"Because I want this. I want you, Katara," the words tumbled from his mouth harshly. It embarrassed him to say the words aloud, and he felt the blood rush to his face. Couldn't she have figured it out? He knew he was bad with words. And worse with words that were spoken with girls. "It drives me crazy to see you everyday, not being able to touch you, always fighting with you, thinking and dreaming of you." His hands tightened for a moment, then went slack with the confession. She knew now; why bother hiding the rest? "It wasn't coincidence we ended up together this afternoon. I wanted to stay close to you. I wanted to be beside you."

"Let. Me. Go," his words scared her a bit. He sounded like he meant it, but she didn't know if she could believe him. She … what did she think of him? Oh it didn't matter, he was holding her against her will, wasn't he? Instant jerk status.

"Katara, please stop. I just… Stay with me a bit longer. Please stay with me." He repeated softly, shoulders slumped and a bit defeated; he leaned forward to rest against her, his upper body pressed to her slender back. He tilted and rested his forehead on her shoulder, the lengths of their loose hair mingling when he sighed. He didn't want to hurt her.

"I'm not good at this." He admitted, the words caressing down her back. "But I've learned a lot, from being banished, from travelling with my uncle, from dating a bit," his voice trailed off. "I know I'm bad with words. I'm bad at figuring out what I want."

Katara listened, non-plussed. If he was trying to win her over by saying he didn't know whether or not he wanted her and that he had a record of making bad decisions, he wasn't going to get a very positive reception… And his comment about her being selfish hadn't exactly endeared him to her, earlier.

"That's really none of my business, Zuko, so if you're done playing with my feelings and insulting me--."

"But I found out what friends are when I joined you & the Avatar," he continued, ignoring her. "I see how you and Aang and Toph act; I see how your family acts together, and I see what it means, now, to be friends," his hands relaxed further, and he took his hand down away from her throat. His hands fell to his lap. "I also… I see how Suki and Sokka act… And… I see how Aang looks at you." He pulled away a bit, his body curled and head resting against her back now. "I know what it means," he said huskily.

Katara's heartbeat picked up a beat faster.

"I know, I can see it. I know what he wants with you, from you, Katara."

She swallowed hard, unsure of what to do. It was none of his business. None at all. She knew she was a coward for not having spoken to Aang, for not being clear. She felt... conflicted. She felt uncomfortable with Zuko bringing this up, obviously. But part of her discomfort stemmed from the guilt and self-resentment she felt that she didn't have the guts to admit her own feelings enough to reject Aang's.

Zuko sensed the turmoil within her, and spoke quietly, but clearly.

"I know, and I want it, too." said the prince.

Katara's mouth went dry. Her pulse raced at his confession, and her heart pounded in her chest.

Throughout her body she recognized how close he was to her, physically. The feel of his warm breath down her back; the powerful legs that surrounded her own; the… she blushed, burning crimson… the evidence against her lower back of how she affected him.

"You like me?" she asked, her voice a bit hesitant. Not that he couldn't be lying; but everyone knew Zuko was a terrible liar. She had to be sure of his answer.

He nodded, his hair falling forward and tickling the back of her neck.

"…Yes."

Slowly, he reached his hands up from his lap and settling them around her waist, before moving them down to hold her hips. "I do."

"How long?"

"Hmm?" he asked, a bit shocked.

"How long have you liked me?"

"Oh," he sounded very relieved, Katara thought. He seemed to relax again.

"… Since you flew away with Aang in the North Pole, the first time. I thought I'd be devastated I had to re-start my search for the Avatar… then I realized I was looking forward to it. I've always liked your eyes. And the way you stand up for people. You're strong…"

She nodded to herself; the hands on her hips didn't feel awkward or uncomfortable now… She kind of liked how they felt, a bit possessive of her.

"Oh," she couldn't think of anything to say.

Zuko had confirmed he liked her. She'd… been attracted to him, sure. _Be honest_, part of her chided. She did like him back. She just didn't admit it because… because…

He stroked her hips once, slowly with his thumbs. Shivers ran down her spine.

Zuko felt the tremors from her body. It made him feel good, to know he was affecting her; more than that. It encouraged him that she wasn't fighting him anymore.

He pulled the cloak down from their heads, and it rested in their shared lap. He smoothed his palm down her leg to rest on top of her knee, then turned it palm-up to bend a soft flame to give them some light. As much as he didn't want to be seen, he needed to see her.

"Katara," he said, raising his head and speaking more clearly. "Do you…"

His heartbeat sped up, too, now; she could feel it through their clothes. Though he'd pulled the cloak away, she felt even warmer.

"Do you want to be with me?"

It was stupid that she hesitated; stupid that she still felt unsure. Stupid that she wanted to say "Yes!", but was scared.

She hated feeling scared.

"You really think I'm strong? And selfish."

"I'm sorry about the selfish part," he said immediately. "And yes, very strong. Determined."

She thought on his words a moment; everything in her told her he was telling the truth. She took a deep breath and hopped on the imaginary tightrope, praying that if there was no safety net, hopefully the ground was made of rubber if she fell.

"Yes," she said quietly, her chin tucked in and her shoulders curled forward, as if to create a protective shell around herself. She'd never felt like a coward until that moment. She took a step on the rope.

"Katara?" he hadn't heard her answer. Worse still, his hands had moved away from her.

"I said, yes. I want to be with you. Too." She ground out and faced him head-on, and wished he'd get her mental message to please put his hands back on her, they were comforting. The tightrope thrummed and wavered under her feet as she held herself steady, waiting for her partner's outstretched hand.

It came as a short burst, but it broke through the tense silence like an explosion. Zuko half-laughed, half-sighed with relief.

"What?" she asked, terrified she'd just been tricked into doing something humiliating. She twisted her head to look at him again, and saw his eyes shining at her.

They were so close she could feel his breath on her cheeks; he could probably feel hers, too.

"Nothing, just…"

"Hmm?"

"This."

He caught her lips with his and kissed her.

One hand returned to her hip to hold her where he wanted her, and the other extinguished its flame to reach up and cup the side of her face.

She couldn't breathe and didn't want to; breathing would mean stopping the incredible rush of fire she felt from her core to her fingertips as they ran through his hair; stopping would mean breaking contact with him when every nerve ending wanted to explode; she didn't want to stop.

"I always wanted to do that," he breathed, and went back to kissing her.

He moved his hand lower, to twist her body around and lift her leg over his so she faced him. It stayed under her leg, squeezing gently as he moaned. The discovery that his feelings were mutual propelled him to be bolder, yet more compassionate.

He brushed a thumb over her flushed cheek and enjoyed the feeling of her smile as they kissed. She was enjoying him; it turned him on, and pushed him further. He felt something within him stir, pulling him closer to her. He wanted to get closer, as close as he could get.

Both Katara's hands were in his hair now, tugging, pulling, running freely through the shaggy, dark mane, surprising even herself with how natural it felt to pet him so wantonly. She felt him take a fistful of her own hair, and it bunched in his fingers as he clenched and bowed under her ministrations.

"That feels good," he said hoarsely when she kneaded part of his scalp. She growled appreciatively in her throat and arched against him when his fingers tickled the back of her ear. How had he known how to do that? How had she known how to touch him? As their breathing became more ragged and their shared urge more intense, they each thrived on drawing out the other's passion, enjoying the instants of awe and pleasure that exploded with each glancing touch.

His hand unclenched from her hair and then unbound it so it flowed down her back. He twisted his fingers in it and pulled her back to expose her neck

She gasped when he trailed the tip of his tongue along her jawline to her ear, and kissed it delicately.

"How does this feel?" he growled in her ear.

Katara choked on her words, as she felt a wave building within her. "It's… _ah!_ It's…_ngh!_" Zuko smirked triumphantly that he made her feel as out of control as he did.

Her hands roved to his chest and clenched around his tunic, yanking at it when he nuzzled her neck. It felt too good. His shirt opened loosely under her fingers and she touched the warm, smooth planes of his chest. Exploring of their own volition, they traced the muscles and lines he'd defined through hours of training.

She'd loved watching him train shirtless. The little thrills that had crept from her stomach to her lower regions had made her think it was wrong to spy on him or sneak peeks when he'd meditated or practiced, but he did it so casually she stopped worrying about feeling prudish and just enjoyed the view.

She enjoyed the feeling even more.

And she wanted more. Eager to feed her hunger, she pushed open his shirt, down his arms to the floor, and her hands slid inside, every texture and inch an invitation to go further, touch more. She didn't care about right or wrong, she just knew her body wanted only what he could give her. Excitement, passion, heat, the volcano within her core leapt higher and she ignored every word of caution ever lectured at her. The new feelings refused to temper, and for once she wanted to flow, to be just as wild and free as the water she bended. Zuko could give her that freedom.

Zuko broke the kiss momentarily to hiss through his teeth; she had slid her hands down the planes of his torso to his belt-sash, loosening it, reveling in the feel of his warm, smooth skin under her fingertips. Then he grabbed her hips with both hands to sit her on top of his lap. Over his…

"Zuko!" she gasped, breaking the kiss on his neck when he bent his head forward to graze his teeth against the unraveling bindings on chest. Her own shirt had loosened long before, and he nosed away the offending blue garb. A hint of insecurity entered her; over the clothes was one thing, but to be exposed, bare…

"You started it," he said, glancing up at her. She knew he'd looked up by the sound of his voice and the way his breath warmed her neck as opposed to the valley between her…

"Ah!" He undid the sash at the side of her tunic-shirt, and put his hands back on her hips, but on her skin this time.

"It's ok," he murmured softly, and took one of her hands, placing it over his heart. "Just let me know if we go too far." He hoped he sounded confident, that he was masking his uncertainty. He felt awed by how much she'd trusted him so far, and didn't want to lose her trust. Cherishing their intimacy, he prayed he could keep his word. Everything she did felt amazing; everything they shared felt… like it was a sacred, destined path. They were meant to share this journey with each other, together, one step at a time until they leapt from the cliff into the unknown.

Katara nodded and felt reassured by his heartbeat racing under her warm hand; she was warm all over, almost melting. A bead of sweat trailed down her back, and she shivered as he cold air hit her exposed shoulders. Zuko had removed her shirt.

"Come here," he commanded, but she was already leaning forward. They both wanted to start running for the edge of the cliff.

Then his kiss took her break away, and reason with it; she grabbed him, her nails digging into his back while he pulled her closer, closer, and started rocking his hips against hers.

Fire shot through Katara's core at the contact. _Yes_, she wanted to shout, _yes yes yes!_

Inhibitions completely dismissed, she fell into a rhythm, and soon matched his. Everything felt right, and the volcano churned inside Katara, preparing her.

As her bindings fell from her chest, Zuko's hands massaged gently up her sides, around her back, and to her shoulders. He pulled her against him, naked chest to chest.

She opened her mouth to him, and he entered her. His tongue traced her lips in welcome as it crossed them, and then moved over her tongue possessively as he plundered her mouth.

They knew the cliff was coming up rapidly and they'd jump soon. Even now they could feel their bodies and chi focusing in their first chakras, begging to be merged and unleashed.

Zuko's internal fire flared and his body warmed to let the excess escape or risk burning them both. He'd heard the stories and warnings about a Firebender's first time, knew there were precautions he should take – to protect them both – but couldn't for the life of him tear himself away to consciously think about anything that wasn't Katara and her pleasure at that very instant in their lives.

The smooth, strong strokes of Katara's tongue meeting his and inviting him to more nearly brought Zuko to his peak, but he held back, not wanting to lose himself in her yet. He released her mouth and kissed down her jaw to her neck, and nipped her collarbone, causing her to gasp. Meanwhile his hands had moved down her shoulders and around to hold the full weight of the mounds on her chest, the pads of his thumbs softly circling their petal-soft nubs. He hadn't dared reach for her like this until now, when she had invited him. She drove him mad with lust.

"Zuko," Katara could hardly breathe, and the wave building within her threatened to crash, the volcano to erupt. She started to rise off him, too sensitive to continue, but Zuko would have none of it. They were at the edge of the cliff.

Grabbing her hips, he grunted and pulled her back down on him forcefully, the pressure of the contact pushing the last of Katara's control.

"I'm, Zuko I'm going to, _ah--!,_" she tried to get him to understand, but words failed her. As the wave crested, about to break, she couldn't help herself; she seized his hips to hold herself in place and bit down on his shoulder to keep from crying out.

He felt her teeth and reveled in the overwhelming pleasure the flicker of pain triggered; he groaned again and squeezed her breasts instinctively. Nothing had ever felt so good.

They grabbed each other's hands, laced their fingers, and…

Katara unraveled.

The sensation was so strong she thought she saw stars blinding her, and the pleasure exploded, rushing through every vein from her core to her heart, and shooting down to her lower regions like fiery lava. She closed her eyes and rode the waves pouring through her, unable to form coherent speech other than Zuko's name. She was surprised she'd survived; she thought for sure she'd died for a tiny moment…

Her soft, strong body bowed and shuddered, and the friction over Zuko's taut trousers did him in with his next breath.

He barely managed to swallow the ball of fire that had risen in his chest to explode from his throat when he felt her release. Her trust, her generosity, her openness with him and willingness to share her vulnerabilities undid him.

Zuko let go, the fire crashing around them but not burning them, their clothes a forgotten tangled mess on the ground, their meager surroundings no longer a hideout but a sanctuary. Relief flooded him, that he hadn't lost himself with her, that he had taken care of her, that he had treated her as a man treats his woman in their shared intimacy. That he'd found such pleasure and felt such an overwhelming urge to join with her awed and frightened him in a way – but for now, she was his and he was hers.

They cried each other's name hoarsely in the darkness, and went.

She fell against him, tremors and aftershocks rippling through her. He collapsed back against the rubble behind him, holding her to him, not caring how the rocks and stones bit into his flesh as they both breathed huskily, hoarsely, to regain themselves. They were spent.

They lay in the dark, holding each other, for a long, quiet time.

* * *

They reached the rest of the gang at their campsite close to midnight. Everyone else had arrived safely, and they'd been worried sick about the missing pair.

"You guys look exhausted," said Aang, Momo perched on his shoulder.

"I'm just gonna go have a quick bath in the river," said Katara tiredly. Her eyes still held a hint of what had transpired, and she needed to hide any evidence that may otherwise show up in the morning.

"I'll go when you get back," added Zuko. He definitely looked the worse of the pair. His clothes were rumpled, and it looked like they'd been dragged through the streets…

"Katara could probably do your clothes while she's bathing," offered Sokka, "she'll be waterbending anyway, and--."

"Uh, no thanks," rushed Zuko, crimson tinting his cheeks as he walked towards his tent. "I'll do it myself." He didn't know how she'd react to the evidence of his… reaction. Would she think it gross? Embarrassing? Doubts gnawed at the edges of his male confidence and ego.

"Whatever. If everybody's back, I'm going to sleep," yawned the older Water Tribe sibling. He and Aang went back to their sleeping bags at Appa's feet, and were asleep and snoring within minutes.

Katara picked up her bathing supplies and towel, and glanced around the site. Everyone else was fast asleep.

She waited until Zuko stepped out of his tent, and smiled at him warmly.

He smiled back, restored.

Together they walked hand in hand to the riverbank to wash.

**The End.  
**

* * *

AN: Enormous thanks to beta **kirschreich**, who reviewed this entire document for me (twice!) as my beta. Also to pal **loveroftheflame** for all her help & support!  
AN: … and please forgive me for the clichés! For my first lemon, I hope I didn't abuse them tooooo badly.

/first posted June 21st 2008. mm


	12. Chapter 12 : Parade

**Story Title: Parade  
Chapter: one-shot  
Author: Moor (or 'beyondthemoor' from LJ)  
Length: approx. 2200 words  
Genre: General/Comedy/Parody/PWP  
Rating: I'll say T  
Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender**

**Summary: **Inspired by LoveroftheFlame's request for some ZukoxTyLee action back in September of 2007… and my perverse sense of humour. This is a crack-fic I was tempted to pop into the "Core Dump", but, well… you'll see. Originally written in early October 2007… and… um… I kind of forgot about it. Sorry 'bout that…

**Disclaimer: I have no ownership of "Avatar: The Last Airbender".  
**

* * *

**The Big Night**

Microphone held awkwardly in her tiny – but deceptively strong—hands, the earthbender looked out over the herd of horny women.

"Welcome, ladies, to the inaugural Avatar Bachelor Charity Auction! Oh, my apologies, I see some men out there, too – I think."

"Hey!" yelled Haru when Toph gave him a Gai-sensei-style thumbs-up and grin.

"-Well, I know you're going to enjoy this show just as much as the target audience, so buckle up and hold on!"

The catwalk lit up and the music rose to a bump-n-grind bounce.

"From the Southern Water Tribe, first up is … Sokka, international man of mystery!"

Loud catcalls, screams, and shrieks of excitement rang out as Sokka strutted across the stage. His wide, relaxed smile as he thanked the ladies confidently only made them wilder.

Toph continued in a drone, pretending to read off a card she was holding.

"Sokka boasts a superior set of abs, rapier wit and sharp intelligence, in addition to a fine—."

"Oy…" he called in warning. He'd been uneasy about the auction ever since he found out Toph would be the MC, and her teeth-baring-smirk wasn't reassuring him.

"--pair of gorgeous blue eyes."

"Thank you." _Ok,_ he conceded, _maybe she isn't all bad--._

"… We'll start the bidding at a quarter -- twenty-five cents!"

"_OY!_"

"Oops, sorry Sokka, you're right," she paused dramatically.

"A _Canadian_ quarter," she amended.

The crowd laughed good naturedly as the bidding started. It quickly became obvious that the bidding war for this particular bachelor was going to get personal.

Suki and Yue glared at each other, their paddles raised menacingly. Ty Lee hung from the rafters.

_Some time later…_

"Right, well, now that we've all agreed to behave like _ladies_," Toph huffed her mussed bangs out of her face and cracked her knuckles, "we can continue."

To the side, Yue and Suki escorted a very flushed Sokka off-stage. Their dresses were in tatters and their hair hung around their shoulders, ripped from the ornate plaits and up-dos their stylists had fashioned for them just a few hours before… Sokka's attire and hair were in equal condition, following the unlady-like tug-of-war they'd had with him. Not that he'd appeared to have minded…

"Next on the docket, please give a warm welcome to another member of the Southern Water Tribe – Chief Hakoda!" The crowd 'oohed' as he crossed the stage, a natural leader and charismatic man.

"Don't let those beads in his hair fool you, girls, this man was made for action! We'll start the bidding at a hundred big ones!"

To the surprise of everyone – including her husband—Ursa won the bid very quickly, with a staggering wager.

"But darling wife, surely you're being hasty," growled the Fire Lord as he peeked from behind a curtain, trying to distract her. His intended's golden eyes were fixed on the sky blue ones of the prize before her. "You don't have to go for one of the first ones," he hinted.

"No, you were the one who was always 'hasty' and went first, darling… Every time," she added, a distinctly feline smile gracing her features as she held out her hand. Hakoda kissed the air above it like a gentleman, but his fingers were already massaging her pulse. His focus was entirely on her.

"Now it's her turn," said the Water Tribe man softly, patting the lovely woman's arm as he slid it through his own. "Shall we?"

They ignored Ozai's insults, threats, and pleading as they left the arena. The crowd couldn't help it when they sighed, "Awwww..." as the couple left.

Toph swung back into action with the next contender.

"Moving right along, we have a true treasure up for sale. Get your paddles ready to give it up for… Jet!"

A number of paddles went up… and then lowered dejectedly when a dark-haired, mature woman raised hers. Discontent muttering filled the room, and the bid was won with a somewhat moribund air. It was as if no one wanted to bother trying for this particular bachelor.

"Ok, I guess… ," agreed Toph with a shrug. "Jet, I congratulate you on your new mistress, Aunt Wu!"

"No wonder the others gave up," muttered one woman to another, and they both nodded.

"Ladies and 'gentleman'," Toph gave another sly wink to Haru.

He in turn glared back and shouted, _"I have a mustache now, damnit!"_

"Whose glue is wearing off," retorted the MC. "I have just been informed we have a special guest, just added to the roster. Please pull out your purses and fork it over for… Agni, the god of fire!"

"Paddles down, ladies, he's mine," ordered Azula from the front row. Her arms and legs were crossed casually, and she only raised her paddle in a show of compliance with the barest rules of the auction. A few bold women raised their paddles again in a show of defiance, however, and a few more bids rang in.

"Mai, Ty Lee, if you'd be so kind," said the princess curtly.

The opposition was quickly neutralized.

"Well, that was one of the quickest sales we've seen so far tonight!" admitted Toph, and shooed Agni towards Azula with a flip of her hand. "May you have a long and prosperous… uh… evening?" She couldn't quite bring herself to lie as blatantly as to say 'enjoy'.

Agni, on the other hand, did not seem as pleased with the arrangement.

"Uh, this isn't exactly what I had in mind," he hedged, not moving towards his buyer.

"Get moving, Hot Stuff, I have more meat to hock," said Toph without a trace of sensitivity.

"Isn't this incest?" argued Agni, leaning away from the Fire Nation heir.

"Get off the stage,"

"Can't we renegociate?!" desperation laced his voice.

"You're her bitch, Agni. Go bend over." With that, Toph stamped her foot and the runway shuddered and launched Agni in flaming glory into the air, landing on his knees at Azula's feet.

Azula smiled down at him. And put a collar around his neck, holding the leash in her slender, pale hands.

"Come along, Agni, we need to talk…"

"…"

Azula's eyes narrowed when he didn't immediately hop to attention. It was all the incentive he needed. "That's _'Yes, ma'am'_," she snapped.

"Yes ma'am…"

His internal – and external-- fires dimming by the minute, the great one followed his new mistress out of the auditorium. A trail of depressing soot followed him out. At the very last moment, Azula turned around and faced the stage again.

"Yeah?" asked Toph, resting her chin in her palm as she leaned on the podium – all sense of decorum gone at the Fire god's wimpy departure.

"I'll take the pretty one, too." She pointed at the young man in the audience as if he were a grocery item she wanted to add to her cart.

"Take him, free of charge," waved Toph, not raising her head. "Ok, time to go Mr. Mustachio."

"I told you, it's--!"

"Yeah, whatever. Enjoy yourself, princess!" she called to Azula—or was it Haru? with a shooing motion. The regal young woman smirked, put a matching collar on Haru and marched her pair of man-slaves out.

The next few bids went fairly smoothly: Meng purchased Aang; Toph took a step away from the podium to bid for Iroh against Kana, however somehow Jun ended up winning on a technicality; and finally it came time for the big event of the night… the one bachelor every lady had been waiting for.

Zuko walked begrudgingly out from the rear wings of the stage, and the lighting became dramatic… while the music took a turn for the worse.

Right Said Fred's _"I'm too sexy"_ poured from the speakers. Those close enough to the stage clearly noticed his jaw clench and his eyes sharpen, but they were too busy trying not to be crushed by the crowd that surged forward from behind them to really enjoy the prince's discomfort.

Toph however, relished it.

"Does it really need to be this song?" asked the surly Fire Nation man, turning to look at Toph.

"Oh, my mistake, let me fix that right up for you!" the blind girl offered politely.

Def Lepard's "Pour some sugar on me" blared through the PA system…

The crowd went wild with offers, and Zuko's hands tightened to fists. "Earthy peasant, I'm warning you…"

"Oops, how about this one?..." Warrant's, "Heaven isn't too far away" didn't improve his disposition either.

"You put one more guitar power ballad on, and I swear I'm going to burn this whole place down!" he ground out through his teeth. The prince wasn't a fan of the 80s, apparently.

"Oh, fine…" The record made a scratching sound as Toph flipped it out of the player and tossed in her last dig.

Katrina & The Waves, "Walking on Sunshine".

"Ok ladies, let this honorary Sun Warrior have it! This stud starts at two grand!"

The bidding went on for hours…

* * *

It was Ty Lee who finally won, thanks to her recently re-acquired Ultra-Platinum Super-Debit Infinite Card. (There were murmurs through the crowd by jealous parties who wondered just how she'd gotten that back, but they were quelled when the perky brunette collected her pride-shattered prize from the stage.)

"Well thank you for coming, ladies and gents, that concludes our auction. Now, for the biggest prize-winner, we're providing a complimentary limo and chaperone--myself-- for your date! We'll of course be checking in from time to time to see how things are coming along…" Toph smiled widely as Ty Lee cuddled up to Zuko and the prince glared at Toph again murderously. The earthbender wriggled her fingers at the mismatched couple teasingly. "Toodles, Angry Lad… Have a great time, Ty!"

"Oh, we will! It'll be so much fun! Oh, Zuko, I know the best place to go! I can tell it's totally you, since it totally matches your aura! You'll love it!" She started dragging him bodily from the auditorium, and the rest of the audience clapped politely in congratulations before they filed out thereafter.

* * *

_A few glimpses at Ty Lee and Zuko's date..._

**1. The wrong restaurant?**

"Korean barbecue is so good, isn't it, Zuko?" asked Ty Lee, bending towards him. Her hand waved her chopsticks carelessly about, and Zuko had to duck several times to avoid being smacked in the face with flaming-hot beef.

"Would you be careful, I don't want a matching scar on the other side of my face you circus freak!"

"We're so lucky this restaurant is open so late!"

They stayed for several more hours; Zuko started wondering optimistically if Ty Lee might accidentally choke on all the food she was consuming.

From the surveillance van outside the restaurant, Toph chuckled and tossed a few more snacks in her mouth. Her feet were resting on an old cabbage crate she'd found outside the establishment. She could hear everything from the spy cameras they'd planted in the dining room…

**2. The wrong activity?**

"No, I don't want to go to the beach to play volleyball. I'm still in my suit," he argued.

"Then come play in the water; the waves look so happy to see us!"

Zuko stood angrily in ankle-deep water, his shoes rapidly filling with salt-water, sand, and hermit crabs. He was scowling. His wardrobe was ruined…

Above them, the dark sky started showing signs of light. Dawn was approaching.

Still in the van (though now at the top of the hill overlooking the beach) Toph yawned and rubbed her eyes. Then she stretched, and gave herself a few good scratches to wake herself up. She put her foot on the ground outside the van, made a few notes, and then turned over to catch some sleep on the bench seat.

Unbeknownst to her, however, Ty Lee decided at that moment to pull off her dress and stood wearing a white bikini in the crashing waves. Bikini… or underwear – the night was so dark, Zuko wasn't sure.

Ty Lee laughed and did a cartwheel – then a back-spring flip—through the surf.

_Bounce, bounce… bounce…._

His good eyebrow raised in interest, Zuko took a step further into the depths…

**3. Breakfast**

Toph's jaw cracked as she yawned, mouth agape, and knocked on the door to Zuko and Ty Lee's hotel room.

"Go 'way," came the muffled reply. Followed by a giggle.

"Huh?" asked the former-MC, confused.

"Later!"

"Whatever…"

Toph returned to the van for another forty winks, while the sounds of giggling followed her.

* * *

_Aftermath…_

"Yeah, so, who knew, huh?" commented Zuko bashfully, tilting forward as he scratched his head. The post-date debriefing was being held in a hotel meeting room, and had quickly turned into a press conference to announce the Fire Prince and soon-to-be Princess's spontaneous engagement. Flashbulbs went off willy-nilly, and a plethora of microphones were lined up in front of the happy couple on the table.

"We had such a wonderful time! I knew we had complimenting auras!" beamed Ty Lee, still holding on to Zuko's arm adorably.

"… wow, you guys really sound like you made a connection," drawled Toph, not sure whether to be impressed or disgusted. "Congratulations, Zuko. I didn't know you had it in you…" Toph held back the rest of her comment, sensing the 'shut-it'-vibes emanating off the young man across from her.

"Congratulations to you, too, Ty Lee. I guess we can't call you 'circus freak' anymore eh?"

"Not without a title," smiled Zuko, paying rapt attention to his sudden beloved.

The prince really should have realized the Bei Fong heiress would take that as an invitation.

And Toph, of course, never fails to rise to the occasion.

"You mean… _'circus freak in the sack'_ ?"

_"TOPH!"_

"Heh, I knew it…"

* * *

_**The happy ending.  
**_AN: Gai-sensei-isms appear courtesy of my Naruto fetish.  
AN: Ultra-Platinum Super-Debit Infinite Card : If you haven't read my story, "The Gift Horse", feel free to take a look to familiarize yourself with the context. ;)

* * *

AN: Thank you for reading!  
/mm. First posted 29 Aug 2008.


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